Final Fantasy Alter XIII
by omgwtfdondake
Summary: -Continuation of FFafterXIII- Even without the fal'Cie, Gran Pulse and Cocoon reach the brink of war. Can the course of history be changed? Even when it has been altered once before? -Warnings: MAJOR AU, FLight, OCs and possible spoilers for FFXIII & XIII-2-
1. Prologue

**.:.:: Prologue  
.:.:: Fabula Nova Crystallis**

* * *

"_Gran Pulse. It was a beautiful and dangerous world, full of many different forms of life. Among those existed humans, small in number but fast-growing. _

_While arguably one of the more frail inhabitants of the world we quickly adapted; learning ways to survive against our more dangerous neighbors. We learned to harness the wild, becoming adept hunters and tamers of beasts. And as our survival skills evolved, as did our technology and in turn, so did our territory. But our technology could only take us so far, and the farther we spread across Gran Pulse, the greater the danger we encountered._

_Then we discovered the crystals. Rare, enchanting jewels—so obviously unnatural and foreign to Gran Pulse—found buried in the hardest of rock, hidden in the deepest of caverns._

_The use of a mere sliver of the precious stone could do wonders even we couldn't have dream of; repel even the most rabid of beasts, power entire villages, heal wounds and cure sickness. Our way of life, once again, began to evolve. The crystals were considered sacred. Some believed they were preserving the power of the Goddess Etro herself. Temples and shrines were made to house them, to honor she who had given us life. She who had given us our minds and souls; our curiosity for discovery, our intelligence for creation, tenacity to survive, and ambition to grow._

_But our gifts became our weakness. For some, simply preserving the power wasn't enough. They sought to harness the powers of the crystals for weapons. The debate of whether or not the crystals should be used in this way divided the human race. Those that preserved the crystals shunned the further advancement of technology, returning to living as one with the wild. _

_The others that aimed to harness the crystal's energy, took what crystals they could and left. Disappeared for decades until they revealed the culmination of their infusion of the crystal's powers into their technology. They created Cocoon, a floating moon that rose to hover above Gran Pulse. It was their ark, their haven; a way of keeping themselves safe from the chaotic, untamed world below._

_The human race remained divided for centuries, existing along side one another but never together. This went on for centuries, until most of us believed the other people were merely characters of stories—the tales a child's parents would tell them before bed. And those that did remember, left the truth well alone. There was no conflict between them, but only because there was no contact._

_That is, until the home of the people in the sky was threatened. While extraordinarily powerful, the sacred crystals still only had so much power within them. And what they had taken in the time they'd split from those on the ground had been drained. The crystals that had split the humans apart and blurred the knowledge of each others' existences, was now forcing them back together. The people of Cocoon immediately began a hunt for more of their power source but in doing so, destroyed lands claimed by the Gran Pulsians. Tensions arose and bordered dangerously close to open conflict. _

_The people of Cocoon, under the rule of their Primarch, believed Gran Pulse to be a hellish place, its people savages, holding on to primitive, delusional beliefs keeping them from moving forward. The Gran Pulsians, now spread across four main cities, held the united belief that the people of Cocoon were power-hungry bullies, reliant on technology that spit in the face of the Goddess Etro._

_As time went on, the tension only grew worse. The desperation of the people of Cocoon and the fear among the tribes on Gran Pulse were growing into what could only result in open conflict. Whether unable or unwilling to understand one another, both sides had walked a path that ended with them teetering the very edge of war. A war that would without a doubt devastate both worlds. A war that would mark the beginning of the end for humankind. _

_It was inevitable._

_Or so we thought."_

* * *

**A/N :.  
**

Just for those of you that don't know, this pic is set in (sort of) and takes place after (sort of) my fic titled _**Final Fantasy After XIII**_ so it may get a little weird if you haven't read that.  
Meaning... you may wanna do that. _"May"_. You don't have to. It's a free internet. Just putting it out there.

Also, I warned the readers of that fic and I'm warning the readers of this one now: There will be no insta-FLight here.  
Yes, it's a FLight story and trust me, I'm a big a FLight fan as you probably are but I also enjoy the other characters and overall setting and story of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series so I'll be playing around with those as well.  
There are plenty of lovely insta-FLight fanfics out there so if that's your cup of tea, I salute you but you won't find that here.

I also own nothing from _**Final Fantasy XIII**_ or _**XIII-2**_


	2. Inception

**.:.:: Chapter 1  
.:.:: Inception  
**

* * *

Palamecia was in chaos.

One wouldn't have guessed it, gazing upon its glory, sitting at the highest point in Palumpolum. The citadel's white walls that both reflected and bent the moonlight that shone upon them. Twin towers rose from the sides, connected by a smaller stronghold—as elegant as it was fortified. Stained glass windows glinted more intensely in the moonlight. The defenses that accompanied them were a clear proof of power but were integrated delicately into the design of the structure. It's massive front gate only accessible from the single bridge built over a massive chasm that separated the citadel's perch from the rest of the city.

No, the symbol of peace and order gave nothing away from the outside. Inside, however, was a different story.

Within the white walls, The Palamecian Guard was frantically searching the citadel for the intruder that had subtlety infiltrated and not-so-subtly started on a killing spree that had stopped short of a few floors of the Primarch's chambers. The entirety of Palamecia had been locked down to keep the search area within the main stronghold and to cut off the towers. Even though they knew the intruder probably wouldn't have left without reaching their target which was no doubt the Primarch.

"What's the status outside the Primarch's chambers?" Alistor Zaidl, Knight-Commander of the Palamecian Guard walked quickly down a massive hall leading the main elevator that ran up and down the entire height of the building. A well aged, clean cut man but still very much in his prime, his presence emanated strength and power. Even without being littered with visible battle scars one could tell he'd known fighting—and known it well.

His uniform was more or less the same as the other knights of Palamecia. A simple gray and white military uniform with—contrary to their titles—minimal armor, mostly around the lower legs, wrists and shoulders. The only way the Knight-Commander's uniform differed was his lack of head gear and the number and formation of light bars emanating from his shoulder guards.

"A group has been placed at the door and another two are searching the rest of the floor, Knight-Commander." Alistor was followed by three other knights. The towering man half grunted, half sighed as they reached the elevator, "Sir, should we inform General Raynes-"

"No." Alistor quickly cut the knight off, stepping onto the hovering platform that shimmered from a transparent blue to red as he did so, "I don't want the Sanctum involved, they're in charge of protecting the rest of Cocoon, the Palamecian Guard protects the Primarch." He all but glared at the other soldiers, "Word of this does not leave the citadel, we keep this contained in Palamecia, understood." He was responded by three salutes that he barely took notice of as he punched the number of the top floor into the elevator console.

Alistor could hear the chaotic search even before the elevator came to a stop at his destination. Weaving his way past other knights, he eventually reached the group guarding the double-doors leading to the Primarch's chambers. These few knights had their energy armor enabled—the true reason why the knight's uniform was so lightly armored. Upon activation, the knight could use the technology in their gauntlets, leg-plates, shoulder-guards and headgear to create energy fields that served as protective shielding. It was similar to much of the other energy fields used for defense within Palamecia. It looked as if they were wearing a translucent set of full body armor that shimmered in the light.

"Knight-Commander." They saluted Alistor formally. He waved his hand dismissively, throwing a glance at the door.

"The Primarch's chambers?"

"Secured for now. No activity anywhere near this section of the floor." The knight reported. Alistor did his own scan of the nearby area. The hallway reached its widest outside the Primarch's door. It would be impossible for an assassin, regardless of skill, to approach the door without being spotted. They'd have to continue playing hide and seek until they were caught or saw an opening in the guard posted at the door—something the Palamecian Guard could not let happen.

"Sir, is this another attack from the Pulsians?"

"I don't know." Alistor answered gruffly, "The last time they assassinated the Primarch was out in the open, in public, out in the city." The Knight-Commander quickly assessed the position of the knights outside the door, looking for any weakness or possible blind spots, "It was more than just about killing him, it was about sending a message. The fact that they're attacking in the middle of the night, within Palamecia is... concerning."

"It's only been a little over a year, hasn't it?" Alistor merely nodded at the question. A little over a year since Cocoon had been introduced to a new Primarch. The previous Primarch had been assassinated while attending a parade in the streets of Palumpolum, "And it happened so fast..."

"Poison dart." Alistor stated in a low voice, "He was dead before he hit the ground." It wasn't widely known exactly how the previous Primarch had died but it was general knowledge that a shooter had been involved. It was also discovered that the dart and the poison that'd killed their leader was not native to Cocoon, turning its people's attention to the world below.

"We traced the dart and poison to Pulse, right?" The knight voiced aloud what Alistor had been replaying in his head. He chose to amuse his subordinate's curiosity. Outside the Primarch's door was a good a place as any to be in their current situation.

"Sanctum launched and led the investigations." Alistor began to clarify, "But as if the animosity between our worlds wasn't enough, the fact that the Pulsians are split into four separate cities made it difficult to get any sort of answers."

"So it was dropped?"

"We asked Sanctum to end the investigation."

"Why was that?" There was genuine surprise in the guard's voice. Alistor understood it though. Why would the Palamecians, the Primarch's personal guard, end an investigation into their charge's murder?

"Pushing the Pulsians would get us nowhere but into a war. A war we could not afford without a leader." The Knight-Commander explained further, "We needed a new Primarch, after a debate with the Sanctum the Primarch's son was chosen to succeed his father under the advice of representatives of both the Sanctum and the Palamecians."

"You and General Raynes." Alistor nodded.

"This would give Cocoon a new leader and quell any unrest that the assassination of his predecessor had caused." Alistor found himself staring at the door to the Primarch's chambers. He was too young—still too young if you asked the Knight-Commander. But it had been necessary. Cocoon was a floating paradise, but cracks had begun to form since the discovery of their energy shortage-

"It doesn't change the fact that the Pulsians are murderous savages, sir." The guard's voice, laced with hatred brought Alistor out of his thoughts.

"That managed to infiltrate the most heavily fortified, closely guarded stronghold in all of Cocoon—sans Sanctum HQ." His words were blunt, and not necessarily meant sardonically but still seemed to stun the guard he'd been conversing with, "Whether this assassin is from Cocoon or Pulse doesn't matter, what does is that they mean to harm the Primarch and that must not be allowed."

"Why would anyone from Cocoon want to harm the Primarch? He may be new and young but as Primarch, he's revered-"

"Knight-Commander!" A voice called from through Alistair's communicator. A holographic display flickered into view from a projector in one of his shoulder guards, "There was a disturbance in the courtyard, a group is in pursuit of the target."

"Did they get a good look at them?" Alistor asked.

"No sir, the best they could describe was _'a shadowy, suspicious-looking figure'_." The knight on screen replied. Alistor sighed, already heading for the elevator, "There's... another problem sir." He stopped, raising an eyebrow as if signaling the knight to continue, "A different group claims to be in pursuit of a target, same description."

"What?"

"There's more than one sir. We may have more than one intruder in Palamecia." Alistor cursed under his breath.

"Where is the second group?"

"On one of the higher floors, sir," The knight projected an internal map of the building, indicating the location and directional movement of the knights in question, "The target seems to be leading them upwards."

"Keep them tracked." He directed before turning to the knight now standing at his side, "I want the two groups searching this floor sent down to head off the groups in pursuit of their targets."

"Yes sir." The knight made a salute before activating his own communicator and delivering the orders. Just as the Knight-Commander was about to end communications the knight spoke up again, "Also sir, there may be... one... other problem."

"Elaborate."

"The Sanctum somehow got word of the lock down. General Raynes is here." Alistor all but growled at the information. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily.

"Stall him, We'll deal with this before he can make this situation any worse." With that, he cut the communication. Upon doing so, Alistor turned to the knight now at his side.

"Take this group—all but two—and continue searching this floor."

"Sir? What about the Primarch's-"

"The remaining two will stand guard inside." He motioned to two of the knights nearest the door. The both of them threw a glance at each other before saluting and slipping into the chambers.

"I will stand guard out here." the Knight-Commander cut him off, "Sending two assassins was risky, sending more than three is unnecessary, it isn't likely that there is more than one other." The finality in his voice caused the knight to salute before directing the others to disperse and spread out across the rest of the floor. As they did so, Alistor positioned himself with his back against the door, hand on his weapon that hung at his side.

While he was confident in his theory of there only being one remaining intruder, and that he was capable of dealing with them as necessary, his main reason for sending the group of Knights away from the door was to give the assassin the weakness they were no doubt waiting for. One knight—even one of higher rank—was better than the five that had been there moments prior. And now the Sanctum was getting involved, they couldn't afford to pass up any chances.

The Sanctum, Alistor frowned as his thoughts flashed to the Palamecia's other, equally unwelcome 'guest'. General Raynes had always been a thorn in his side. Without trying, the both of them had never managed to see eye to eye on anything. The Knight-Commander needed to deal with the situation faster than he'd planned.

Taking the calculated risk, he made his way to the elevator, still barely in sight of the Primarch chamber doors. He used the console and punched in a few controls. The elevator platform shifted from blue to red before flickering off completely. Locking the controls, he gave an almost amused grunt before stepping away and turning back towards his post.

As he neared the chambers, there was a stifled yell that he shouldn't have been able to hear through the closed doors. Upon reaching them, a wave of something akin to panic washed over him as he noticed them slightly ajar. He'd been gone less than half a minute; they'd already slipped inside? How? Another yell and clash of weapons had him drawing his own. He wasted no time powering up his energy armor as he kicked open the door and rushed inside.

"Halt!" He called, his weapon pointed directly at the figure standing over the Primarch, a young adolescent man cowering in fear. The two knights he had directed inside lay on the floor in pools of blood. They had been run through. His eyes returned to the figure by the Primarch. What shook him was that they also wore the uniform of the Palamecian Guard, with its energy armor enabled—something only legitimate members of the Guard could use. The third knight had now taken a step away, their weapon in view. It was covered in blood.

The Knight-Commander's jaw tightened, "What the hell happened here?" He motioned at the knight's helmet, a silent order to remove it, "Stand down and identify yourself immediately... knight." He said the last word hesitantly.

The knight slowly disarmed their weapon and disengaged their armor before reaching up and doing the same with their helmet. As the translucent energy faded, the first thing Alistor saw clearly were the light locks of hair that fell elegantly over the knight's left shoulder. As the rest of the helmet was pulled out of the way, he was met with the face of an angel, surprisingly unfamiliar since he was sure he'd have remembered such a face. A face that shouldn't have belonged to one who seemed to have overpowered and killed two other members of the guard in a flash. He actually found himself struggling to keep his composure as he met the knight's eyes.

"Who are you?" He asked again, the hardness in his voice disappearing completely as he was pierced by the icy brilliance of the cerulean blue orbs.

* * *

**A/N :.**

I warned you about the AU. And the OCs. Deal with it, yeah?  
And if the summary box didn't have a character limit, I would have added _'cliffhangers'_ to the warnings.  
Those of you that know my writing, know I love my cliffhangers.


	3. Judgment

**.:.:: Chapter 2  
.:.:: Judgment**

* * *

"You're jumping to conclusions—as usual."

"She was standing over the Primarch, two of your knights slain, their blood on her hands." General Raynes pointed a finger towards the accused, standing before them.

"Knights that, according to her, were party behind the assassination attempt."

"This according to the knight you barely have any recollection of?" The General proceeded to jab the same accusing finger at Alistor, "You remember the two slain yet cannot say the same for her."

"There are many honorable knights I've yet to have the privilege of getting to know well." The Knight-Commander countered. It was true, the Palamecian Guard had grown significantly in the past few year—mostly due to the increased danger surrounding the Primarch. There was once a time where The Knight-Commander would've known each and every one of his knights but such a time had long faded. As Palamecia grew closer to the Sanctum they became more involved in Cocoon's politics and Alistor found himself spending more time at Sanctum HQ than at Palamecia.

"Then unbind her records!" General Raynes all but demanded.

"A knight's records may only be unbound should they die or commit treason, therefor nullifying or forfeiting their title." Alistor recited.

Each knight, once accepted into the Palamecian Guard, were to choose a name—a title—for themselves. It was part of the oath they took when they chose to become a Palamecian. Once a knight, always a knight. Each one had their previous identity bound, sealed in the main databank within the citadel without access by anyone but the record-keeper. All sans for the Knight-Commander who kept his name due to his role in representing Palamecia in the greater scheme of things regarding Cocoon as a whole.

"She made an attempt on the Primarch's life!"

"You have no proof-"

"And you have nothing but her word!" The General's voice had grown with each argumentative statement. Alistor decided anger did not suit the man. Raynes was young but the Knight-Commander respected him as a soldier, he made a good one. Alistor had also watched the General rise in Politics and found he was equally adept at being the politician—something that never sat well with the Palamecian.

"The word of a Palamecian Knight." The Knight-Commander countered once again.

Alistor's eyes had rarely left the woman since he first saw her in the Primarch's chambers. Not even he could argue that she was a creature of beauty but he could also tell she were just as dangerous. Her build hid the subtle indications that she was built for battle—though more specifically for speed over strength. She moved with grace but it was calculated, with a guard that she never let down. She was everything a Palamecian should be; which is what bothered Alistor more. How could such a perfect representation of the Guard have escaped his notice?

He'd had little success getting much out of her before the General had arrived at the scene. She made no attempt to resist arrest and stated no more than her title. Currently she was standing on a holding platform, barriers preventing her from stepping off. Locks had been set on her armor and weapons to prevent her from using them. If not for the arrival of the General, the restraints would not have been used. He stood by his statement that they'd yet to prove she'd done anything that what she had told them: Cut down two traitors in the middle of an attempt to assassinate the Primarch. And she'd given them no other reason to restrain her, therefor, the locks were unnecessary.

"Do you have anything else to say for yourself?" Raynes must have noticed Alistor assessing the suspect. He'd walked over to the platform, "Well?"

"Other than I'm surprised you remembered I'm standing right here?" Their prime suspect said darkly, her eyes darting back and forth between the two officials, "_Sir._" Alistor didn't need to have seen the General's face to see the scowl that most definitely crossed it. And while snark wasn't uncommon between the Sanctum and the Palamecians it was not the time nor place. Considering the way she held herself, Alistor found the little display of mockery towards the second-highest ranking official on Cocoon rather unexpected.

"I'd encourage you to think carefully on your words and actions within this room, around your present company, knight." Alistor warned, though his voice lacked the threatening tone you'd expect. Her eyes met his and while they were an icy blue, there was a fiery flicker of defiance in them. She remained silent, however.

"What does the Primarch have to say on this matter?" Raynes directed the question at Alistor but kept his eyes on the knight in holding.

"He doesn't know anything we don't." Alistor replied with a sigh, "He was on the floor before he knew what was going on."

"Knight-Commander, the Primarch wishes to speak with you and General Raynes." A voice over the intercom suddenly cut in. The two officials shared a look before Alistor replied with confirmation of receiving the request.

"She stays." Raynes motioned to the containment platform before promptly leaving the room. Alistor sighed heavily. He was the head of the Palamecian Guard. He answered to no one but the Primarch. And were he dealing with anyone other than General Raynes, there would be no issue with disregarding the statement and releasing the suspected knight. But he refused to deal with another issue with the Sanctum—with the General—so he was inclined to adhere to the request.

"Don't worry, Knight-Commander," The suspect brought his attention back towards her, "I'm not going anywhere." Alistor still couldn't quite get over how out-of-place her tone was compared to her appearance. It was dark, taunting, evidence of a hot-temper, all of which had no place in the Palamecian Guard.

"You may be a member of the Guard but I'm dealing with more than a couple dead knights, cut down by Palamecian weaponry." He moved towards the door of the room, "I'm not going to question your word as a knight but I cannot afford to let any information slip through my fingers. Not when it concerns the safety of the Primarch."

"If you're waiting for any more 'information' from me, you'll be waiting a long time." The Knight-Commander ignored the comment as he turned to look at her one last time.

"Patience is a virtue." He grumbled. And with that he left the room. As he passed the Sanctum soldiers outside that had accompanied the General to Palamecia, he gave instructions, "No one else goes in or out of this room, understood?" The soldiers were hesitant to respond at first but nodded the affirmative.

As the Knight-Commander moved away, the other few soldiers that had been left to guard the room congregated around the viewing window by the door. While they were well-known across Cocoon, Palamecian Knights were rarely seen far from Palamecia, let alone Palumpolum. And to witness the incarceration of such a peacekeeper was more or less unheard of. So when one soldier gave into his curiosity and entered the room himself, the others did little to protest before eventually following suit.

"So this is what a Palamecian Knight looks like." The first of the soldiers began circling the holding platform, "Can't say I'm not a little... disappointed."

"Aren't they supposed to be more... shiny?" Another soldier spoke up with a scoff, "What with all their CrysGen Tech?"

"It's not active, genius." A third explained with a sigh, "It's been locked anyway, since she's in custody."

"A Palamecian attacking the Primarch. Who'd have thought?"

The soldier circling the knight stopped to stand directly in front of her. So far she'd more of less ignored them but as he looked up at her, she met his eyes. He immediately felt a chill shoot up his spine. Icy blue eyes somehow managed to burn into his own as he felt the flare of intimidation. And while he found he couldn't look away, the gaze irked him.

"You got something to say, Palamecian?" He demanded. First to actually address the suspect, the others' discussion promptly ended and their attention directed at the knight in custody.

"Not to you." Came the blunt, disinterested answer. The mere three words only proved to further aggravate the soldier. Just like all the others, true to their collective reputation, the knight was looking down on him. It didn't help that it could be meant literally as well. He punched in a few commands into the terminal by the platform.

"Hey what're you-?"

"You aren't authorized to do that-!"

"Are you insane-?

The barrier around the hovering platform flickered out as it slowly lowered to the ground, effectively bringing the knight down to eye-level. The soldier ignored the frantic protests of his squad, hissing something about how the locks on her armor were still active so she was still effectively unarmed.

"You really should listen to your friends." The knight motioned behind him at the soldiers who were now moving, their weapons at the ready, into a defensive position. But the soldier standing before her would have none of it. He raised his weapon at her, "And you really _shouldn't_ do that."

"You telling me what to do now, Palamecian?"

"I'm giving you a friendly suggestion." The knight's tone of voice was all but friendly.

"You talking back at me?" He warned, lowering his voice threateningly, as if trying to match the knight in intimidation. The knight merely smirked in response, the gesture doing little to calm the temper of the soldier with the gun aimed at the knight's head. He all but shoved it in her face as she let out a small sigh.

"Nice gun."

Before any of the guards could react, the gun in question had been kicked cleanly out of the soldier's hands.

"What the-" Before the sentence could be finished, the soldier in question found himself staring down the barrel of his own weapon, "-hell...?"

"Pity you don't seem to know how to use it." The knight taunted with a shrug, "Shall I show you how?" There was a brief moment of stunned silence as the Sanctum soldiers attempted to process what had just happened. The disarmed soldier recovered first.

"You little-!" He moved to grab the knight but caught only air as she easily side-stepped around him. Landing a kick to the back of his knee, she swiftly stumbled him before flipping his gun around and thrusting it into his side. As the soldier clutched at his side with a pained grunt, the knight yanked the gun upwards, catching the soldier's jaw and sending him reeling backwards a few feet away.

The knight flipped the gun back in her hands until she had it resting on her shoulder. She looked between the unarmed soldier and the rest of his squad, "Keeping up so far?"

"What the hell are you doing?" The soldier groaned into one of his hands clutching his face, the other flailing around in the direction of his attacker, "Get her!"

One of the four remaining soldiers didn't make it two steps due to the gun flying at his face. The first that reached the knight was evaded easily, while the second received a quick but staggering jab to the face. The third managed to grab an arm but found his own immediately twisted behind his back, his grip on his gun loose enough for it to be easily kicked out of his hand.

Before he could even yelp in pain he was whirled around, receiving a punch to the gut by soldier number two. The knight using the momentum of the position switch to lead into a roundhouse kick to the chest of the soldier clutching his bloody—and no doubt broken—nose. As she did so, she grabbed the gun out of his hands. Following through, maneuvering around the soldier hunched over from the punch to the gut, she whacked the last remaining gun aimed at her. It flew out of it's owners hands and onto the ground a few feet away.

"Now you're going down-" Soldier number two grabbed at the weapon in her hands. The knight actually let go, raising her hands up near her head, "-wha-?" A moment later, the 'armed' soldier went flying backwards from the gun being kicked into his chest. He landed hard on his back, the firearm clattering on the ground next to him.

"You were saying?" The knight turned to observe the scene around her. Five more or less incapacitated soldiers and she hadn't even stepped off the holding platform. With at least a fractured bone or two each, two soldiers were on their back, two were on their knees and one... was hitting the alarm. The Palamecian raised an eyebrow as he turned, pointing his retrieved weapon at her.

"Shoulda just shot that pretty face and got it over with."

"Finally catching on, are we?" The knight continued to mock, fully aware of but un-phased by the weapon aimed at her. The focused energy blast that seared a lock of hair and grazed her cheek, however, was a bigger issue. Jaw and fists tightened and icy blue seemed to darken into a stormy grey as she locked eyes with the shooter, "That one you get for free." All trace of mocking had gone from her voice, replaced with nothing but a dangerously low, admonitory tone, "The next one will cost you."

There was merely a scoff in response before there was a click, another blast, and another shot fired.

Remember her armor was still locked, the knight's first reaction was to evade the shot, but being second nature to her, she reflexively attempted to activate a shield from her gauntlet. There was an unexpected hum before a fizzling sound near her shoulder as she saw the edge of her an energy shield absorb part of the blast.

Were she not as composed, she'd have looked as shocked as the soldier who'd fired at her. Her eyes slowly shifted from her energy shield to the soldier in question. It didn't matter that he had a helmet on, his fear was evident in the shakiness of his grip on his weapon.

"And now you pay." There was a flash of bright light as the Palamecian darted from her position on the platform. Within the first second, the soldier's gun was once against rendered useless, this time from being sliced in two. Within the next second, his arms were rendered useless from the quick, clean but brutally painful slices to his upper torso, near his neck. In the last second he saw stars as the shield-bash to his head obliterated his senses. Without time to react, the soldier managed only a strangled cry as he landed unceremoniously in a heap on the ground.

Sensing movement behind her, the knight whirled around to block another shot fired at her. Partly on reflex and partly on lack of judgment due to the flareup of rage in the moment, the knight lunged at the second shooter. She didn't get a chance to rethink her decision as she was easily parried and grabbed by the collar. Slow to react due to the speed of her attacker, she felt her world literally spin out of control as she was flipped over, her back hitting the ground hard, jarring her senses even further.

Her training had her recovering fast, however, as the shock was replaced by another flash of anger. Kicking up, she swung around—a little too wildly at her target—only to once again be parried, this time by a weapon that matched her own. Her temper briefly retreating when she saw the face of the Knight-Commander behind her opponent's blade, she immediately pulled back, disengaging her weapon and shield.

"Your knight is certainly making it difficult to disprove the case against her."

"Case? What case?" She snapped at the General behind the Knight-Commander who was all but sneering at her, "You have no evidence-"

"On the contrary." General Raynes brought up a screen playing security footage within Palamecia. The first few clips showed none other than the knight suspected cutting down at least half a dozen other knights-including the two inside the Primarch's chambers, "I believe we have more than enough evidence of your treachery."

Alistor watched the suspect's reaction closely. With every knight slain, it seemed her body grew more and more tense. He could see the surprise and in her eyes and shock in her face. But no one could argue against evidence like this.

"That isn't possible." The knight state, the edge in her voice now gone, "It had to have been manipulated, where did you get this?" She demanded, throw an accusing glare of her own at the General. It didn't need to have been said that she was implying the Sanctum had planted evidence against her. A very dangerous thing to imply. Alistor couldn't decide whether she were incredibly bold or incredibly stupid.

"Actually, your Knight-Commander found the evidence himself." Cerulean blue eyes found their way back to Alistor's. He could have sworn he saw a flash of fear flicker behind her gaze, her grip on her composure faltering. Raynes hadn't lied. He'd pulled the security footage himself, being one of the few with the authority to do so.

"I ...find it hard to believe-"

"To cut down your comrades-" General Raynes cut in.

"I did NOT kill those knights!" Alistor decided that much like the General, this knight's—no, this woman's voice raised to almost yelling volume did not suit her.

"To threaten the life of the Primarch..." At this point even the Palamecian leader could tell the General's words weren't meant for anything else other than to provoke.

"Raynes-"

"I saved his life-!"

"Restrain her." The General cut both Palamecians off, motioning to the other soldiers in the room-who by this time had recovered. The accused looked as if she were going to resist but Alistor caught her eye again and gave her a silent warning against any action. That, paired with his weapon still raised at her, swayed the decision that would only make her situation worse.

Though arguably her situation couldn't get much worse. The price of treason among the Palamecian Guard was death. But something about this particular knight pulled at the back of the Knight-Commander's mind. He knew there was something strange about her the moment he saw her in the Primarch's chambers. And that despite all the evidence against her, she was telling the truth.

She had been in the wrong place at the wrong time; she had not meant to be there; she shouldn't have been there. But she had and not even he could change the evidence the Sanctum now held against her. The best he could do was to use the last shred of pull he had in the matter of her punishment, to change her sentence. She would not die—not immediately by execution anyway. And while most would have considered it a worse fate, somehow he knew she could take the chance he would give her and live.

"My judgment?" The question was almost unheard by the Knight-Commander as the accused was once again, locked out of her armor and weaponry. Alistor ignored the disapproving look he knew the General was giving him even with his focus on the knight before him. Somehow he knew she'd only asked the question she no doubt knew the answer to, just to hear it from the Knight-Commander himself. Though different from the answer she was no doubt expecting, he had no reason to lie or hide it from her.

"Exile."

* * *

**A/N :.**

This chapter was so much of a pain in the ass...  
...I can't even be bothered to write anything in the Author's Note.

Lightning's Palamecian Knight outfit craptastic sketch thing uploaded onto my dA account.


	4. Prey

**.:.:: Chapter 3  
.:.:: Prey  
**

* * *

Rain beat down hard on the land of Gran Pulse. Almost as hard as Lightning's mud-soaked boots on the ground as she propelled herself through unforgiving foliage. Almost as hard as the stabs of what felt like a searing hot poker in the left side of her chest. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the scrapes and scratches at her body by the wild growth she was crashing through. The clash of thunder from above filled her ears and shook her body, throwing off her senses—as if they weren't jarred enough from the unfamiliar terrain.

"_The accused stands charged with the murder of nine members of the Palamecian Guard and the attempted murder of the Primarch of Cocoon." _

From what she could tell from the few hours since she'd been dumped on this godforsaken world, it was more or less early morning. But angry clouds blocked most of the sunlight, assisted by the blankets of rain falling from them. A miscalculated jump over a tangle of roots and stone sent her slipping. She failed to react fast enough as her entire leg slammed against a jagged-edge rock. The pained yelp that escaped her control was masked by the rain and the burning sensations from the cut in her leg was quickly replaced by ache in her side.

"_By the order of Alistor Zaidl, Knight-Commander of the Palamecian Guard, you are hereby stripped of your weapons and armor."_

Lightning knew she couldn't afford to stop. Even in the weather she'd be no match for what she was running from—who she was running from. Gritting her teeth, shutting out the pain and pulling herself back up, she continued. Her pursuers were as alien to her as the land around her. If she'd only had her armor—her weapon would have been enough even—to at least defend herself against her 'welcoming party' upon her 'arrival' on the new world.

"_Your acts of treason require you forfeit your rank of knight and your title of Lightning."_

Even if she retained her old identity it would do her no good where she was. There was no doubt in her mind that the natives of this world she had no place in, would not hesitate to cut her down. Like the land itself they would tear her to pieces should she let them. They had the numbers, and the familiarity with the terrain. It didn't help that she was injured beyond the point of even minimal combat effectiveness. But she could give them no quarter, show no weakness. She just had to keep moving.

"_Your punishment is exile." _

The harder she ran, the more the former Palamecian seethed. This was all wrong. She shouldn't be in this situation, she shouldn't be here, exiled to this godforsaken place. She would've thought the alternate punishment for her 'crimes' would have been preferable if not for the fact that giving up and accepting death was simply _not _in her nature. Even she knew she had an abnormally strong survival instinct—as if she were keeping herself alive solely because she had some unknown purpose to fulfill and could not cease to exist until she did so. She'd do anything if it meant keeping herself alive. Even if it meant pushing her body past it's limits while running from the monsters of hell itself.

"_Do you have any last words?"_

Damn this place. Damn the Sanctum. Damn the Knight-Commander. Damn it all!

"_You're making a mistake."_

Once again Lightning found her footing slip from under her. She scrambled to find something—anything—to steady herself with but to no avail. She'd reached some sort of embankment so she ended up landing in a roll, the combination of momentum and gravity dragging her down the rough hill. Roots, rocks and low branches beat her body without mercy until she reached yet another edge. Still unable to find a foothold or get a grip, she skid off the edge, her head clipping a rock in an unfortunate place. Her vision went black before she hit the ground.

_::.:._

_Lightning cursed, pushing to her feet. She only made it half-way as something around her leg kept her from fully doing so—kept her from doing much of anything for that matter. Looking back at it she found it caught in a vine. No, a rope? Upon closer examination, she noticed it was more of a mixture of rope and wire. A trap? That meant-_

"_We-ell, what do we have here?" A voice snapped the pinkette's attention away from her leg as there was movement from behind her in the trees. Lightning whirled around, maneuvering how she could with the restraint on her leg. She watched as a figure stepped into the small opening._

_He was human—as far as she could tell—taller and bulkier than most men she'd encountered. His dark hair was wild as it curled down around his neck, past his jaw. His attire was simple and light, providing little to no protection one would expect wandering the wilderness of Pulse. Yet it seemed completely in place with the rest of the world. If anything, the little protective gear Lightning had on seemed strange, inappropriate and unfitting. _

"_Well, it's most definitely not that Humbaba we've been tracking for a week." Another voice drifted into the clearing. Lightning's eyes darted back and forth as she watched two—no, three others, similarly dressed, stepped into view. The Sanctum were usually the ones who traveled to pulse—be it on diplomatic terms or otherwise. And of the few Palamecians that, for whatever reason had accompanied them, Lightning had not been one of them. But there was no doubt in her mind the men closing in on her were Pulsian._

"_Nah, looks like we've something much more... exotic." Lightning forced herself to remain still as the largest of the men approached her. She did not at all scare easily and had easily taken down men three times her size but something about this man—no, all of them—gave Lightning a sense of unease she'd never felt before._

"_No way!" The smallest of the four practically jumped to land in a crouch a mere foot from the pinkette. Lightning couldn't help the reflex to scramble backwards, away from him. Well, as far as she could with the trap around her leg, "Hey, we trapped a viper!"_

"_That's one fine-lookin' viper if you ask me..." Another Pulsian grunted. Lightning cursed at her helplessness. Her mind raced with possible ways to defend herself against four opponents with limited movement. They didn't seem to be carrying much in terms of weaponry. The largest Pulsian looked like he was holding a spear of some sort, the others had smaller variations; one carried a bow, arrow at the ready. _

_In actually, he'd probably be the biggest problem. Even with her limited maneuverability, she could easily disarm one of the smaller Pulsians and at least defend herself against the spear-wielder. But she couldn't be sure she could evade an arrow shot at her from out of her reach. Dozens of different scenarios played in her mind but stress and general fatigue made it difficult for her to focus. It didn't help that the slow drizzle that had coated the rest of the morning seemed to be getting harder._

"_Look how scared she looks..." Lightning jerked away from contact against her face. Shit! When had he gotten so close? She scrambled away from the Pulsian that had somehow managed to kneel at her side before she could notice. He laughed as he reached for her again. This time she smacked his arm away, again moving herself away from him—from all of them, keeping them all in front of her, in her line of vision._

"_Oooh! Feisty too!" The Pulsian with the bow sneered._

"_What do we do with her?" The man nearest the pinkette was looking her over. It took every ounce of Lightning's self control to not attempt to shove her boot into his groin._

"_I say I decide." The other Pulsian near her spoke up, "I made the trap she's caught in-"_

"_It's only because she's a pansy from Cocoon that she's all tangled up in it." The one with the bow scoffed, "That thing was so poorly constructed it wouldn't have caught a baby flan."_

"_-Hey! At least I caught something-!"_

"_It'd be nice if it were something to EAT-!"_

"_Speak for yourselves..." The slow, suggestive voice made Lightning sick to her stomach, "I could eat her up-"_

"_Enough!" The largest of the four silence the others with the order. The others all but cowered like followers to an Alpha of a pack. If there were any doubt before, there wasn't any anymore, he was the leader of this particular group of hunters. He made his way over to Lightning, shoving the other Pulsian aside. Lightning couldn't have moved farther away if she wanted to, her leg was already pulling against the hold on it._

_There was near silence sans for the grumble of thunderclouds warming up overhead. The unease Lightning felt tripled as the hunter leaned down towards her, though made no move to touch her. It didn't matter that they were from two different worlds, she recognized the expression in his eyes. It somewhat mirrored her own. He had nothing but contempt for her. The pinkette actually felt her chest hurt from the breath she was holding._

"_We come what we came here to do." The Pulsian's gaze did not leave Lightning's as he instructed the others, "We hunt." He straightened up and moved away, motioning to her leg as he did so, "Cut her loose." For a moment Lightning was confused. She was nowhere near naive or plain stupid enough to believe they'd just let her walk free. Which could only mean that they weren't interested in a prisoner, they were interested in prey. And they'd chosen her._

_She almost flinched when one of the hunters approached her with a small knife. She dared not move while he leaned down and started cutting away at the rope and wire near her leg. Gritting her teeth harder with every snap of the bindings, she prepared herself for when he finished. _

_As the last of the wires were cut, Lightning forced herself into action. Biting back her discomposure, the pinkette leaped at the nearest Pulsian, kicking the knife up and out of his hands. A quick jab to the face gave her enough time to snatch the knife out of the air, grasp the hunter by the shoulder and pull him into a hold, the small blade resting against his neck. By this time she had a bow and a spear aimed at her but the larger Pulsian remained standing, watching her with a look she couldn't quite read. There were several more beats of silence as the rain grew harder still._

"_Damn... didn't take that long to get your hands on me, huh?" The Pulsian in Lightning's hold snickered. The pinkette let her hand 'accidentally' slip, drawing blood. It only proved to amuse the hunter more. Lightning didn't have time to think of anything else, before she could, she was elbowed in the gut. Hard. She doubled over and forced a recovery only receive a blow to the side of the head. She ignored the ringing as she blocked another attempt at her face. The ex-knight lashed out with the knife but swiped only air as the hunter evaded. Her vision slightly impaired, she missed the opportunity to block the hand that reached out and grabbed her by the hair._

"_Oh I'm gonna have so much fun with you-" Lightning refused to let him finish—refused to let him keep his hands on her. She kicked out and up, fulfilling her earlier desire of dealing a blow to where it'd hurt most—regardless of who he was or where he was from. He collapsed with a grunt of pain. Though it released Lightning from his grip, it also now gave a clear shot to the hunter with the bow, now aimed at her. The third Pulsian with the smaller spear had also begun advancing on her. _

_With only a split-second pause, she spun, launching the knife in the archer's direction. She didn't need to hit him, she just needed to interrupt any shot he would no doubt take. As soon as she let the knife fly, she followed through into a kick to the third Pulsian's side. He blocked and held her leg but she jumped, swinging around her other leg and catching him in the side of the head. The maneuver sent both of them to the ground. She recovered first however and turned to assess the others' positions. _

_Before she could, she found a hand around her throat. It was not a life-threatening grip but it was enough to have her struggling for air, and enough to have been able to pull her clean off the ground. The pinkette grasped at the arm connected to it but the Pulsian it belonged to remained unphased by her attempts to break his grip. Then, without warning, and with the force that felt like a full on hit by a truck, his other fist connected with her side. Lightning couldn't contain the cry that escaped her as she felt more than a couple ribs fracture and break._

"_Prey does not fight." He stated in a low voice, his dark eyes piercing hers, even through the blur of pain and panic in her eyes, "Prey runs." With that he released—no, threw her toward the treeline of the clearing. There was far too much force for her to not land on her back. She was barely able to shake off the shock and struggled to her feet, biting on her lip attempting to shut out the stabs of pain in her side, "You will run."_

_Whatever chance the pinkette had against the four Pulsians was shattered along with half her ribs. Lightning knew they'd won here. She had no other choice. She had to run. Damn them, damn them all._

"_Run prey." The Pulsian continued to taunt, his eyes flicking towards the treeline behind her, "Run as hard and as fast as you can."_

_Too unfocused, in too much pain to do anything but ignore the laughs from the other hunters, Lightning backed towards the edge of the clearing. As she felt the brush of foliage against her back, she summoned what strength she had left to shut out the pain in her side, the sound of the jeers from the Pulsians, and the rage bubbling in her chest at the thought of running away._

_Then she turned and fled._

_::.:.  
_

"GUUUGH!" Lightning choked as she tasted a mix of blood, dirt and water in her mouth. She was on her back. She felt the rough ground against it but her legs seemed... weightless. Paralysis? No, she_ felt_ them, they were just... floating. In water?

She attempted to sit up but let out a strangled cry at the sharp pain that shot through her entire left side. Tightening her jaw she tried again. She managed to lift her head and shoulder off the ground but the pain was too much and her entire body was already riddled with exhaustion. She managed to turn her head to see she'd apparently washed up on the shore of a small river. Her lower half was still in the water.

How long had she been out? She forced herself to focus, trying to take in more of her surroundings. She was not in a good position. There was little to no cover around the area she'd washed up on. It'd stopped raining as well and with the clouds clearing up, so did the cover of shadow they created. It must not have been long since she fell and the Pulsians couldn't have been that far behind her when she had.

She silently cursed when she heard movement from further away from the river. Even if she tried, she wouldn't have been able to see. Not that she needed to. She had little doubt it was the hunters that had driven her to her current position, current condition. Her willpower was almost as drained as her ability to move. But something in the back of her mind again forced her from letting it slip from her. She prepared herself for another attempt at movement.

"See? I told you I'd fished something up!" The distinctly female voice caused Lightning to freeze in place. She hadn't seen any other hunters among the pack she'd encountered before—and all four she'd dealt with were male, "Oh come on, you roll your eyes because for all the hunting prowess you have, you still can't fish to save your life!" There was a pain yelp after a low thunk of something hitting the speaker's head.

As far as Lightning could tell there were at least two that had approached her, and stopped just out of her view. She couldn't decide whether to move and attempt to see the newcomers or to remain as still as possible. She didn't get a chance to decide for before she could, something blot out the sun. As her eyes focused, a face came into view. It was a young, feminine face; with silver eyes and equally silver hair framing it.

"I think she's still alive..." Lightning couldn't quite describe how hard it was to pull away from the silver orbs. It was almost as if they glowed—sparkled even—reflected the light like water.

"Hey!" A voice, more familiar to the pinkette, pulled the girl's attention away. The voice had come from a direction Lightning could actually see, "Get away from our prey!" The four hunters from before emerged from the foliage further upstream. They made their way until they were standing on the other side of the river from Lightning and the two newcomers.

"Your prey?" The girl scoffed, turning to face them, but remained crouched near Lightning, "I fished this one outta the river just now."

"We've been hunting her all morning, she's ours." The irritation in the hunter's voice was evident. Hostile even. Too hostile to just be from another hunter taking their prey. Different tribes perhaps? Lightning decided to remain quiet through the interaction.

"All morning?" The girl by her scoffed, amusement as evident in her voice as hostility in the others', "This one? That's a little weak... even for Taejins."

"Why you little-!"

"Ah, ah, ah..." Lightning could see the girl shaker a finger at them teasingly, cutting the 'Taejin' off, "You even realize where you are?" There was a pause before she continued, "You're in Oerban territory, which means this here-" The girl motioned to Lightning, "-belongs to the people of Oerba."

"What of it? You're not even Oerban." Another of the Taejin hunters spat, "That hair, those eyes, you don't have any more right to her than we do."

"No but she does." The girl motioned over her shoulder to—who Lightning assumed—was standing behind her, out of view. She watched the hunter's reactions as closely as she could. Her vision was going blurry and it was getting harder and harder to keep conscious.

"Well so wha-!" The smallest Taejin began but was cut off by another.

"Shit, do you know who that is?" He answered his own question in a voice so low, Lightning couldn't hear. Whatever he'd said obviously shook the outspoken Taejin. Neither of them could say much else as the largest hunter stepped in front of them. He met Lightning's eyes and again Lightning felt the unease creep through the numbness settling into her body. He then turned to look at the two newcomers. He bowed slightly before turning and walking back the way they'd come. The others hesitated only long enough to throw a glare across the river before following.

Again, Lightning found herself letting out a heavy breath. Only when she did so, the pain in her chest returned. She bit her lip to stifle the yelp. It didn't miss the girl's attention as she turned back to look down at the pinkette. At this point, Lightning's vision was blurred past the ability to see much of anything. Her body was too tired and numb to feel any pain. And even her will to live was flickering out.

"-ng, you gonna stand there and daydream or you gonna help me?" Lightning sight went before her hearing, and even that was starting to fade as she succumbed to unconsciousness. The last thing she heard was a shuffling of feet on a mix of ground and water. A strong hand on her shoulder and a second voice from above her. It was heavily accented, slightly sarcastic with a tinge of irritation but bizarrely familiar and oddly comforting.

"Well... ain't you just a little ray of sunshine."

* * *

**A/N :.**

Hmmmm. Sorry Light =\


	5. Broken

**.:.:: Chapter 4  
.:.:: Broken**

* * *

"_So? How's the patient look?"_

"_She's looks like she was dragged up and down the walls of Vallis Media by a rabid Zirnitra."_

"_Well I **did** fish her out of the river west of here... not exactly the smoothest of rides."_

"_She's lucky she wasn't carried the rest of the way to the lake-"_

"_Woulda been better for everyone if she was."_

"_Oooh, harsh-"_

"_That's terrible!"_

"_I didn't just mean for us, her too! She's a viper, you both know what'll happen once the Paddraseans get word of this."_

"_Well, for right now, only we know about her."_

"_Yeah, us and the Taejins. There's no way that brute Virrez ain't tellin his master 'bout her. We shoulda let 'em take her-"_

"_That's worse than drowning in the lake!"_

_"Agreed. Not even a viper deserves what the Taejins woulda done to her."_

"_What she **deserves** is to be treated as a threat she is-"_

"_Well right now she's here and she'll stay here until until she recovers."_

"_But-"_

"_End. Of. discussion."_

"_...Fine."_

"_Wa-pshhhhh-"_

"_Oh shut up, don't you have a village you gotta get back to?"_

"_I probably should. I'll be back in a day or two. Try not to kill her in her sleep until then-?"_

"_Oh just leave already!"_

"_Would you both please keep it down!"_

"_She started it-"_

"_She started it-"_

"_Oh for the love of-**OUT**, both of you!"_

_::.:._

Lightning's eyes fluttered open, her eyelids heavy, sleep still clinging to them. The first thing she made out through blurry vision was a kaleidoscope of colors slowly rotating above her. The first thing she heard was a gentle clinking of... glass? The first thing she felt was the softness under her body. The daze of sleep began slowly wearing off, her vision began to steadily return, along with her senses.

Fingers hesitantly flexed, feeling the softness that she lay on. Grass? Some sort of feathery leafage she could feel between and around each digit. Hands and arms followed her fingers. Raising them up above her head into her line of sight, she clenched and unclenched them in succession a few times. Her eyes now fully focused, she saw they were bandaged.

She caught the flash of color behind them. Lowering her arms again she saw the colored shapes—feathers—hanging on wires from the ceiling of wherever she was. Where was she? As she surveyed the area of the room she could see from her position, her memories began to replay in the back of her head. Exiled to Pulse, the Pulsian hunters, the hunt, the river-

She rested a hand on her left side. Somewhat unsurprisingly, she felt more bandages. Taking a deep breath, the pinkette slowly moved to sit up. Expecting the sharp stabs of pain in her chest, she blinked through bewilderment as all she felt was stiffness. Cerulean eyes darted down. Her uniform—rather, what was left of it—had been stripped from her upper body, her entire chest was wrapped. She noticed through the shreds of the lower part of her uniform that her legs had been given the same treatment.

Lightning pulled up the top part of her uniform around her as she took a better look at the room she was in. It wasn't a large room; metal walls, ceiling and floor—sans the bed of grass she was sitting on. The doorway on the other side of the room was filled by a curtain of beads instead of a door. A set of small windows lined one of the walls, letting in a dim light that indicated either early morning or evening. A gentle breeze flowed through them, dancing with the hanging feathers above her and the beads in the doorway. On the side opposite the windows lay a few bowls, cups, dried plants and a pile of bloody bandages.

Her hand made its way to her left side again. Well obviously someone must have patched her up. She remembered the river. The two from before? She picked up the sound of water against rock through the windows. It wasn't unlikely they'd carried her from where they'd found her. But where were they now? Before she could really think about it, she was already pulling herself up. She remained surprised at how little pain she felt as she did so. The stiffness gave her a little trouble but it was definitely preferable to the pain she could've felt if she hadn't been so well... taken care of.

She frowned as she finally found her footing and stood up straight. Whoever had found her had no doubt known she wasn't native to Pulse. And judging by her first welcoming party, those from Cocoon were less than welcome on this world. Yet the ones that found by the river clean and bandage her wounds? She hadn't really thought much of Pulsians in general as a Palamecian and citizen of Cocoon but she certainly wouldn't have imagined kindness or compassion among the first things she'd think of if asked her opinion. It confused her. And Lightning hated feeling confused. It blurred things, complicated things.

By then she'd made it to the doorway. She brushed aside the beads and stepped out into what looked like an open hall leading to stairs going downwards. She was on the second floor of a relatively large building made entirely of metal sheets. Realizing she felt the cold metal floor under her feet, Lightning became aware she was barefoot. She hadn't remembered seeing her boots in the room and a quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that they weren't. Nothing to be done about it now. The pinkette continued away from the room toward the stairs, limping slightly, favoring her left leg.

Along the way she passed another empty room. It was more or less the same as the room she'd woken up in, only without the bloody bandages. She saw nothing of interest inside and continued on towards the stairs.

Peering over the railing she saw the open space under the floor she was on but still no sign of any Pulsians. Her surroundings had gotten lighter since she'd woken up, indicating it was morning, not evening. Keeping her eyes on the level below, she slowly began making her way down the steps. They proved to be slightly more troublesome than walking on level ground. Attempting to do so without making any noise probably contributed to that.

Finally reaching the ground floor, the pinkette immediately found herself looking out at water, lots of it. It glittered with the morning light, stretching out as far as the eye could see. She was momentarily stunned at the beauty of it—and she was not one to linger on such things. But she found the view unexpectedly breathtaking. Ripping her eyes away, she followed the edge of the water, seeing a few similar buildings lining it before turning into cliffs and forest. Looking through the building she was in she got a glimpse of what was probably the edge of a large village or small town.

A curiosity she wasn't aware she had propelled her forward. More and more of the village came into view as the morning grew brighter still. And yet still, not a Pulsian in sight. Though why did it feel as though she was being watched-

"Well, ain't you an early bird?" The voice sent her jumping at least a foot in the air. Apparently her body wasn't the only thing that was slower than usual. She whirled around in a delayed reflexive reaction, her guard up—if only for a moment before she found herself off-balance and stumbling into a nearby wall to regain her footing. Damn leg, the pinkette cursed as her eyes darted towards the origin of the sound that had startled her.

As she did so, Lightning finally registered the familiarity of the voice. The last one she heard before passing out at the river. She then focused on the owner of said voice and found her train of thought completely derail as she did so. The Pulsian stood tall, their body clearly build for power but undoubtedly feminine. Skin the color of chocolate, wrapped in clothes that would normally have struck Lightning as odd however suited the wearer completely. Wild, untamed, dark hair, tinged red at the tips framed an amused face that sported a distinctive beauty mark under one of two green eyes. Forest green that bore into Cerulean blue as Lightning realized she was staring.

"Leavin' without a thank you," The Pulsian woman continued to speak as she began taking steps toward Lightning. The pinkette's muscles tensed, screaming inwardly for her to move but she found herself unable to, "So the vipers are as rude as they are... delicate?" The word 'viper' and the mocking tone of voice seemed to snap Lightning out of whatever strange trance she'd been in since the appearance of the other woman.

Her eyes darted toward the nearest route out of the building. She cursed to herself again when she saw the railing blocking it. Were she at a hundred percent, leaping clear over it wouldn't have been a problem. Obviously that was more or less out of the question in her current condition.

"Plannin' on going somewhere sunshine?" The Pulsian must have caught her assessing and planning her escape.

Lightning had heard the taunting tone of voice before. She'd heard it in Sanctum soldiers, she'd heard it in the other group of Pulsians she'd run into before. She usually would've brushed it off and ignored it completely but for some reason, coming from this woman, it got to her. That subtle smirk, that teasing look in her eye, it bothered Lightning—like an itch she could quite scratch; like having something at the tip of your tongue but not knowing what; like when trying to remember a vivid dream you've forgotten by the time you've fully woken up. It irked her and she didn't know why which obviously only made it worse. It only made her want all the more to run. Away from the building. Away from the village. Away from _her_.

The pinkette's body moved before her mind knew what it was doing. She pushed off the wall she was leaning against and made a break for the entrance of the building. She made it about 5 steps before she was intercepted by the Pulsian. She was nowhere near as quick as she was usually but she still had not expected the other woman to move that fast.

"Sorry there sunshine, can't let ya leave." The Pulsian gestured towards her, "Doctor's orders." Lightning frowned, once against reminded that these were the people that had probably saved her life. Yet still the urge to flee from this place and this woman remained. The pinkette decided to entertain an idea in her head and attempted to step around the Pulsian. The woman merely sidestepped, continuing to block her way. She looked back into the green eyes, that now eyed her with something other than amusement. It was as if they were challenging her, daring her to try something. Lightning actually found it difficult to hold the the Pulsian's gaze.

The pinkette eventually did break eye-contact before once again attempting to move around the Pulsian, faster this time. Still no success for this time, the other woman grabbed her arm. Lightning jerked her arm away but the grip remained firm—not painful but tight enough for her to know it could easily change within a millisecond.

"Let go of me." Lightning spoke for the first time since she'd woken up—since she'd arrived on this world even. She wasn't looking directly at the Pulsian but the grip did not loosen. She attempted to yank it away again as she repeated herself, "I said let go-"

"Believe me, _viper_, if it were up to me, I'd have left you at that river to fend for yourself." The voice was now lower, quieter and without a doubt threatening. The sudden change in tone brought Lightning's eyes back up to meet dark green, "And I'd gladly let you run off into the wild to get yourself killed but I was told to watch over you-"

"Well I'm telling you to let. Go." Lightning responded, her own temper flaring.

"Or what-?"

Once again, Lightning's body reacted faster than her mind. Instead of attempting to pull her arm out of the grip again, she lunged into it, shoulder-barging the Pulsian. Struggling against the stiffness still surrounding her limbs, she used her other arm to grip her opponent's wrist and pull her arm free. No sooner had she done so, she found a hand on her own wrist and her body being whirled around and shoved back towards the wall. She stumbled on her way there, the stiffness in her body—particularly her leg and side—now slowly giving way to a dull pain.

"Not telling you again, I don't want to hurt you." The Pulsian called from her position, still blocking the way out, "I'd get an earful."

Clenching her jaw, Lightning pushed off the wall, using the momentum she attempted to shove past the Pulsian again. And again she was grabbed, this time by her shoulders. She threw her hands upwards, knocking the restraining arms away before thrusting out to drive the Pulsian away from her. She was somewhat successful but again, she wrist was grasped and yanked to the side. In one fluid moment that Lightning could barely appreciate due to the sheer speed of it, her opponent spun, performing a leg sweep, cleanly knocking her legs out from under her. She bit back a yelp of pain in her chest as she landed on her back but was immediately forced onto her front, her restrained wrist pulled behind her, a knee across the back of her thighs. She was effectively pinned.

She struggled for only a moment before she felt the Pulsian's hair against the back of her neck and breath at her ear.

"You're damn persistent, I'll give you that. Hopeless... but persistent."

Lightning decided she didn't like the shivers the Pulsian's voice sent up and down her spine—that echoed through her aching body. She threw her head back suddenly, satisfied when she felt it connect with a jaw. There was a loud curse as the grip on her body loosened enabling her to roll out of it completely, scrambling away.

"Now you've done it-!"

"Fang!" The third voice caused both of them to freeze. Lightning looked towards the source of the interruption. It was already moving, making its way over to the Pulsian standing above her and smacking her arm, "You're supposed to be watching her! Not beating her up!"

"But Vanille, she-"

"Do you not remember how hard it was to wrap her chest and leg without breaking anything else? And now you're tossing her around like a rag doll!"

The comment should've insulted Lightning, but she was growing too tired again to really do or even care much. She observed the two—particularly the more recent arrival. She was at least a head smaller than the first, younger as well but not by much. She had lighter skin and hair—bright orange that fell in swirly pigtails over her shoulders. Her eyes were also green, but much brighter than the taller of the two. Even her attire was brighter. Pink and orange contrasted blue and white as both Pulsians stood next to each other, continuing to bicker.

"-she attacked me!"

"That is not an excuse!" By this time the smaller of the two—Vanille? Had made her way over to Lightning and was kneeling in front of her, reaching for her leg. The pinkette used some of the little strength she had left to try and jerk it away but found a burning sensation shoot down the side of it, "And you," Vanille waved a finger in Lightning's direction, "You may have recovered faster than any Pulsian I've ever seen—save Fang—but that doesn't mean you can start wandering about on your own." Something about the tone in Vanille's voice caused Lightning to immediately freeze, allowing her to examine her leg. Shaking off the strange sensation, the pinkette also looked down at it, noticing the bandages were beginning to turn red. The wound had re-opened.

"Vanille." Lightning hadn't noticed the attention of the orange-haired Pulsian had shifted to her face. She had a finger pointed at herself, "Oerba Dia Vanille." She then motioned to the taller Pulsian, still standing a few feet away, arms folded across her chest, a disapproving look on her face as she met Lightning's eyes, "That's Fang."

"Oerba Yun Fang." The raven-haired woman announced. Even though the tone was dismissive, even in her weakened state Lightning could hear the pride behind it.

"This is the part where you introduce yourself." Vanille added with a small smile and raised eyebrow, "At least, that's how it goes here on Gran Pulse."

Lightning frowned again as the more simple feeling of antipathy towards the Pulsians was once again replaced by bewildered confusion. She sat there, blinking through it for a few moments before she blurted out her name, somehow unable to refuse Vanille's request.

"...Lightning."

"Lightning..." Vanille seemed to contemplate the name for a few moments, as if trying to remember something. Eventually, she nodded and smiled wider, "Well, Lightning, as nice as it is seeing you up and awake, we should re-wrap your bandages." As the smaller woman got to her feet, she held out a hand at the pinkette. Lightning merely stared at it, still working through the flurry of the events leading up to this point.

Either sensing her confusion or confusing it with hesitation, Vanille sighed and looked over at Fang. The taller Pulsian, whose eyes were currently on the pinkette, eventually noticed the look from the smaller woman and realized what Vanille was hinting at.

"Wh-What?" Fang pointed at Lightning, "You want me to..." The Pulsian seemed to struggle with words. Lightning would have found it amusing if she weren't figuring out what Vanille had suggested, herself.

"We need to get her back to the room-"

"No way!" Fang waved a hand dismissively, shaking her head with equal fervor, "Nuh uh. There's no way. I wouldn't put it past her to _bite_ me!"

"Says the one who had no qualms about pinning her to the ground-"

"She _headbutt_ me!" The Pulsians were too distracted by each other to notice Lightning had pulled herself to her feet on her own. When the she finally did catch the both of their attention, they stopped bickering immediately and watched her expectantly. Leaning heavily against the wall, the pinkette looked between the two of them, at the stairs, then towards the edge of the building.

"You are free to leave whenever you like."

"Van-" Vanille quickly cut off Fang's protest.

"But don't you think you should at least wait until you've recovered fully?" Lightning turned back to the small Pulsian. There was nothing but truth in her eyes. The longer she assessed the situation, the more she started to feel the pain in her leg and side grow. She winced as her position against the wall suddenly made it difficult for her to breathe without a sharp stab in her side. Wincing slightly, she caught Vanille's eye. The smaller woman seemed to understand the look.

"Good." Was all she said before turning and heading towards the stairs. As she did so, Lightning then turned to Fang, who remained standing the few feet away. Blue and green met once more, both filled with a mix of puzzlement and animosity.

"I can handle myself." Lightning blurted sharply out as she slowly began limping after Vanille.

"Please do," Fang countered with equal resentment in her voice, "I sure ain't carryin' you up those stairs."

"May I again raise the point of you have no trouble with pinning her against the ground." Vanille called from her place already halfway up the stairs.

"May I again bring up the fact that she **_headbutt me_**?"

Lightning could've rolled her eyes if her head wasn't spinning so hard. Her leg suddenly felt like lead and her chest began to tighten uncomfortably. She let out a choked breath before she lost her footing. She grabbed at the railing of the stairs but was still too far from them. She braced herself for the imminent collision with the ground.

"Fang-!"

"Oh hell-"

Instead of cold, hard floor, all Lightning felt were warm, strong arms that caught her. Blinking away the state of surprise, all she then saw was green. Fang's face hung a mere foot away from her own. So close. Too close. The pinkette didn't recover fast enough to struggle out of the hold or away from the arm that moved to loop under the back of her knees. Before she knew what was happening she was lifted swiftly off the ground.

Whether from sheer shock or pure exhaustion, Lightning was frozen. Despite herself, her body seemed to relax. As if falling into a warm, comfortable bed after sleeping on hard ground for weeks. She could now feel the toned muscles move against her that sent goosebumps up and down her side—despite the numbness that was starting to settle into her body. Her head will still spinning, only now with the conflict between her mind and body. Her brain told her she wanted nothing more than to kick out of the Pulsian's hold and remain as far as possible from her. But her body had never felt more at ease—even with the heat that had begun to engulf it due to the close contact.

"You really are pretty damn hopeless." Fang murmured under her breath as she continued the rest of the way to and up the stairs. The comment cut through the haze in Lightning's head reawakened her urge to jump away. But at this point she was just too damn tired.

"...Shut up."

* * *

**A/N :.**

Yeesh. So cold, Fang. So cold...


	6. Oerba

**.:.:: Chapter 5  
.:.:: Oerba  
**

* * *

It had been about two days since Lightning had woken up in the village of Oerba. After she'd been caught—in more ways than one—and taken back to the room she'd started in, she had spent most of the time between then and the present fading in and out of consciousness. She had pushed her body a little too far, too soon, and had basically undone a lot of the healing it did after she'd been recovered from the river.

She was finally able to move freely, without the pain and with minimal stiffness. Of course by 'freely' it also meant Vanille had granted her permission to do so. The few times Lightning had been conscious she may as well have passed out again for the orange-haired Pulsian had refused to let her leave her bed unless absolutely necessary.

Yes, the pinkette had been incredibly weak but she did not take orders from anyone, least of all a stranger—a stranger and _Pulsian_. But Vanille had an uncanny ability to make up ones mind for them. It was bizarrely terrifying. Lightning couldn't help but feel that without demanding, ordering or commanding, by simply _asking_ in the way that she did, the young woman could have anyone wrapped around her finger, doing exactly what she wanted.

Not that Lightning hadn't wanted to 'go for a walk' the first thing in the morning of her third day in Oerba. She was presently being escorted through the village by the peculiar medic. And Fang. The pinkette had made a mental note that where there was Vanille, there was Fang. And as if the smaller of the two didn't completely baffle her to the point of frustration, Fang downright aggravated her. The mere presence of the woman seemed to get under her skin.

"I didn't really have an opinion of Pulsians." Lightning admit honestly when asked by Vanille about her thoughts so far.

"Gran Pulsians." Fang corrected with a steely edge in her voice. Cerulean flashed against green before Lightning continued.

"I just never really thought about it."

"Really?" Vanille seemed curiously surprised, "Fang kept going on about how you must have been a soldier or something judging by your build." Lightning raised an eyebrow at Fang, who merely grunted, averting her eyes, refusing eye-contact, "I would've thought the military up there would've at least had some kind of opinion on us down here."

"I didn't say they don't, just when it came to Pulsians-"

"Gran. Pulsians." Another correction cut in.

"-I couldn't really say much. There was enough pointless fighting within Cocoon." Lightning explained, "It always seemed pointless to me that we'd go picking fights with those living on Pulse—Gran Pulse." She corrected herself as she saw the raven-haired woman open her mouth out of the corner of her eye.

"Hmmmm..." Vanille seemed to think for a moment, slowly nodding her head as if reaching some sort of unspoken consensus, "Guess we have at least one thing in common then." She finally said with a flash of a smile. Lightning raised an eyebrow questioningly, "I mean, I dunno about fighting, but down here on Gran Pulse, we aren't exactly a big happy family."

"Well if you wanna look at it that way, no doubt the Taejins are the problem child." Fang muttered.

"Ah, that's right." Vanille threw an almost apologetic look towards the pinkette, "You found that out the hard way..."

"Hard way?" Fang cut in with a scoff, motioning toward lightning with her chin and scrutinizing the pinkette's side, "She got off easy compared to what coulda happened if she hadn't washed up on Oerban territory." It was getting harder and harder for Lightning to ignore the constant verbal prodding from the taller woman. It was just as bad as if Fang were actually poking her in the side.

"Fang-"

"What? It's the truth." Fang shrugged defensively, "Taejins are vicious. They don't argue, they fight. They don't hunt, they kill. Luckily they stick close to that damn tower of theirs so being neighbors isn't as... inconvenient as one would think."

"Taejin's Tower." Lightning mumbled. Even from where the three of them were standing, in a completely different area of Gran Pulse, they could see the sky-high structure. Though she'd never seen it from the ground, Lightning had heard about it, read about like every other Cocoon native. The colossal column that shot up from the ground, hundreds of feet in the air.

"They live there?"

"Well, what would they use it for?" Fang scoffed.

"I've never liked that tower." Vanille said quietly, as if uncomfortable admitting the opinion, "Something about it... isn't right." She continued, "Like if it were any taller, it'd rip a hole in the sky."

"It could probably knock the viper's nest outta the sky."

"Fang!" Another scolding sent Fang into silence. Vanille gave another apologetic look to Lightning who honestly, could probably have agreed, finally seeing just how massive the tower was.

"Their entire population lives in the tower?" The pinkette's question was asked aloud again before she could stop herself.

"Yep," Vanille was more than happy to answer it before Fang could make another snarky comment, "And they're the second largest group of us Gran Pulsians too."

"Not even Taejin's Tower could fit all the Paddraseans in it." Fang spoke up again, "They may not have the view but the city of Paddra is a spectacle in itself."

Lightning had obviously heard accounts on how vast and magnificent the largest city on Gran Pulse was. Paddra actually saw relatively frequent visits from Cocoon natives. Granted most were either Sanctum or Palamecian and only visiting on a diplomatic capacity to resolve a conflict. But again, her thoughts never lingered on it, she'd never entertained the idea of seeing it for herself, and while she'd have done so if asked by the Knight-Commander, not once had she requested the chance to take part in an assignment that involved leaving Cocoon. She'd always felt it was where she was needed, where she needed to be. For what? She didn't know.

The pinkette thoughts drifted back to before she'd been exiled. Following her arrest, she had stood firm in her account of that night's events. She knew the truth, she knew what she'd seen and she'd thought that would have been enough. But the unexpected 'evidence' against her threw her resolve into chaos. She remembered the look on the Knight-Commander's face, the looks on her the other Palamecians' faces as she stood at the center of the citadel while her 'crimes' were listed. While her honor as a knight was taken from her. While her place as a citizen of Cocoon was revoked. While she was spared her life but sent to hell anyway.

Because Pulse—Gran Pulse—was hell. Lightning's focus returned to her surroundings. The world below Cocoon was the worst kind of hell. It was beautiful, breathtaking and teeming with life. Colors Lightning never knew existed flourished at every turn. Yet everything was as deadly as it was dazzling. As soon as it bewitched you, anything and everything on Gran Pulse could tear you down, eat your whole and spit you out broken—dead if you were lucky. The vast world was a double edged sword that left Lightning feeling vulnerable and powerless, two feelings she loathed with a passion. Which meant as enchanting Gran Pulse was, she hated every minute she spent on it.

"-addraseans usually keep out of others' affairs." Vanille's voice brought her back to the current conversation, "Though if something between the villages gets out of hand, the have the ways and means of solving it."

"If by 'ways and means', you actually mean beat both parties down until they forget why they're in disagreement in the first place, then yeah." The snark in Fang's voice wasn't missed as the raven-haired woman shrugged, "Paddra holds the most power on Gran Pulse and they know it. They could swat the rest of us down like flies if they wanted. They know it. We know it. They know we do and they aren't afraid to use it against anyone who might disagree with them on something."

"We've never had any problems with the Paddraseans." Vanille frowned as she voiced her opinion on the matter. Lightning took her tone as one of disagreement with Fang's general attitude and point of view on the matter.

"That's because we do exactly what they say, when they say so." Fang scoffed, "When they have the time to visit our humble little village, of course, to pester us." The smaller Oerban let out a heavy sigh, choosing to avoid a most-likely heated debate on the subject in front of their guest. Vanille merely threw Lightning another small smile before continuing down the path they'd been walking along. As soon as she did so, her attention seemed caught by something.

"Speaking of pests..." Lightning heard Fang muttering, running a hand through her hair. Vanille's attention had been diverted toward the lake. She followed the both of their gazes to see a figure emerge from the water where stone steps descended into it. The pinkette raised an eyebrow. The few villagers that walked the edge of the water passed the new arrival without much more than a simple greeting—as if it were perfectly normal for someone to just appear out of the water to enter the village.

By this time Vanille had already begun walking down the path toward the lake. Lightning could have sworn she heard Fang groan before following. She hesitated only a moment before continuing after them. As she drew near, her view of the visitor grew clearer and her curiosity gave way to recognition.

Shorter than even Vanille, the girl was obviously a least a few years younger than the other two Gran Pulsians present. Her attire was even more simple than Fang, Vanille's or any of the other villagers she'd seen so far. It was also distinctly different in style, suggesting that while she was most definitely Gran Pulsian, she was not native to Oerba.

Sporting a black top and shorts, both still wet from her supposed swim, a strange netting was draped over her shoulders and around lower thighs. Her feet were more or less bare sans the wraps around each one. She carried nothing but a light pack against her right hip and a pair of what appeared to be forked weapons hooked onto a small holster around her lower left leg.

Her gaze returning upward, Lightning—now seeing the girl in full view, without burred vision—noticed just how unusual and unnatural her hair seemed. It was short, barely reaching the bottom of her neck, with two braids falling over her shoulders. In the direct sunlight it actually seemed to glimmer, glow even, like light on water. Her eyes were just as odd. Eerie almost, as they met Lightning's own.

"Well, you clean up nice." The girl commented through a smile, her eyes scanning Lightning from head to toe. Lightning threw her own glance downward. Sometime during her 'bed-rest' she'd been given a new set of clothes. It wasn't as though she'd have preferred walking around in a shredded half of a Palamecian Knight's uniform that covered less of her body than the bandages she was wrapped in but the attire she now wore just did not feel right at all.

She wore something akin to a dress almost, over most of her body. Not used to having her legs quite as bare as the piece of clothing left them, she used what she could salvage from her former uniform and made a set of shorts. Black arm-sleeves covered the bandages that wrapped her lower arms. On her feet, she wore a simple set of a cross between boots and sandals that, to her relief, felt much more durable than they looked. Her upper arms and lower legs bare, the entire outfit still had her feeling too exposed, too unprotected. At the last minute she'd grabbed one thing—a scarf—and wrapped it around her shoulders and neck. Oddly enough it helped with the discomfort caused by the other articles of clothing.

"Lightning this is Aquinas," Vanille introduced, breaking the silence and bringing Lighting's attention back to the silver-haired Gran Pulsian, "She's the one who found you at the river."

"I remember." The pinkette murmured.

"Call me Aqui, everybody does." The girl grinned wider as she offered a hand, the bracelets on her wrist clinking softly as she did so. Lightning hesitated too long to complete the gesture. Aquinas pulled her hand away but seemed unphased at the lack of response as she immediately motioned to the tallest of them with the same hand, "Well, except Fang... she usually prefers to address to me as 'fish girl'."

"Right, says the kid who practically lives and breaths in the water."

"I can't help it if my people live in, on and around water! And don't call me kid!" The tallest and smallest mock-glared at each other. What were they, five? Lightning felt the overwhelming urge to roll her eyes. Vanille actually did so with a sigh as she turned to the pinkette.

"Aqui is Sulyyan." She explained, "Her village is built into Sulyya Springs. It's the fourth and last of the ones we were talking about before."

"Ah, the old Gran Pulse family introduction?" Aquinas asked, amusement behind her eyes, "That would make... Sulyya the youngest and smallest-"

"The runt of the pack?" Fang snickered.

"Hey!" Aquinas shot another glare at the taller Gran Pulsian.

"I was talking about Sulyya!"

"Totally does not make it better!"

"I'm surrounded by children..." The orange-haired Oerban voiced what Lightning was no doubt thinking.

"Speaking of things small, Sulyyan and made of of water." Aquinas reached into the pack at her side and pulled out a small glass bottle about three inches long and an inch wide. At first Lightning thought it was empty but then noticed the strange, semi-transparent liquid within it. Similar to Aquinas' hair, it shimmered in a way Lightning hadn't seen liquid do before. She also noticed the care that Aquinas and Vanille were exhibiting while exchanging it.

"Thank you Aqui." Vanille seemed entranced by the small bottle as she held it up to the light, examining the contents, "This is more than enough to help with Lightning's ribs."

The pinkette in question raised an eyebrow. Vanille caught her eye and held out the bottle to her. She took it hesitantly. It was heavier than it looked, for reasons revealed as Lightning inspected it further. The walls of the bottle were thick meaning there was even less liquid within than she originally thought. She also noticed that the bottle seemed unusually cold, the liquid inside chilling it unnaturally. What was it? Before she could ask aloud, the bottle was pulled out of her hand by Vanille.

"You heal fast naturally but the key to your improvement of your ribs is thanks to the generosity of the Sulyyans." The small Oerban said cryptically, "I should start on the next few doses." She spoke to herself, already moving away, "Fang, you can continue escorting our guest around the village." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Wait... what?" Fang blurted out, throwing a glance at Lightning, who looked just as perturbed. At the lack of response, the taller Oerban looked over at Aquinas. The Sulyyan immediately threw her hands up.

"Sorry, I have things to discuss with Vanille on behalf of the elders back home." The silver-haired girl mentioned quickly before turning and following Vanille before Fang could protest, "Play nice you two!" And with that, Fang and Lightning were left standing in the middle of the path.

The both of them turned to look at one another and almost immediately they looked away, refusing to look each other in the eye. Neither of them were particularly happy about the situation.

And it wasn't just limited to their current predicament. Since their first official meeting, the raven-haired Oerban had basically sat in the company of the pinkette from Cocoon. If there was one thing Fang hated more than anything it was being ignored. She'd have rather argued in circles. And when the times the pinkette had be conscious, she'd merely ignore Fang, refuse to acknowledge her. That is, until it came the time to change her bandages.

As if sitting, watching wasn't bad enough. Vanille had put Fang in charge of changing the injured woman's dressings. And when there was more of her covered in bandages than not, it may as well have been changing her clothes. That in itself was a struggle, each and every time.

Whenever the time came around for Fang to change the Cocoon native's bandages, the first 20 minutes would be spend arguing back and forth about whether or not it actually needed to be done. The next 20 minutes would be Lightning insisting she do it herself and Fang insisting she help because for one, the pinkette still struggled with the more extreme of movements with her body and two, Vanille had told her to do so. After about an hour of arguing—usually ending with Vanille barging in and scolding them both, they'd finally get around to actually carrying out the task.

And each and every time, it was a whole knew kind of battle for Fang. Forget the fact Lightning continuously refused to abandon the shredded remains of whatever outfit she'd had when she'd been found; she had less of the outfit than she had bandages, which meant—for lack of a better way to explain—when changing them, she'd essentially be stripping the other woman.

The first time she saw the bare skin of the Cocoon native, Fang found herself unexpectedly disturbed at the many cuts and bruises that marred her. She'd seen injuries much worse, wounds infinitely more gruesome but for some reason seeing them on this particular victim struck something deep within the Oerban that unsettled her. It actually took effort to keep her fingers focused and not dwindle on each and every mark, wishing them erased, unable to shake the feeling that such imperfections had no place on such a perfect form.

After the next day and the next few changes, wounds had healed and scars had already begun to fade, leaving way for perfect porcelain skin, impossibly soft to the touch. Everything on Gran Pulse was natural, raw and rough—terrain and inhabitants alike. The feel of Lightning's skin under her fingers was unlike anything she had felt before, understandably so since there was nothing on Gran Pulse like it. Fang actually did find her fingers occasionally lingering a split second too long on one spot—much to the pinkette's discomfort and usually earned her a disturbed glare and/or cold shoulder. Fang was entranced by the Cocoon native. She was entranced by a viper and she hated it.

Lightning hadn't found it any less awkward nor subtly enamoring. The Oerban's fingers were like flames against her skin. They left trails of heat that Lightning couldn't stand, yet found as soon as the fingers left her, she couldn't stand to be without. Like the rest of her body, Fang's hands were strong and capable. While she hated the process, Lightning knew the change of bandages was necessary. And Fang's ability to do so without causing her any real pain whatsoever, was evidence of experience and skill.

The times Lightning may have felt that sharp stab in her side had most always been her own doing—of course Fang would never hear of this. It had been her body jolting in indecisiveness between pulling away or relaxing into Fang's hands. Her body _yearned_ for Fang's touch and she didn't know why. And like many people—from Gran Pulse and Cocoon alike—she did not take well to the unknown.

What both Fang and Lightning did know but would never admit to the other—or anyone else for that matter—was the magnetic pull they felt between them. And the more time they spent together, the harder it was to even imagine being apart. Yes, they could deny it all they wanted but they both knew for a fact that there was a immensely powerful, mysteriously unyielding force that connected their souls.

* * *

**A/N :.**

More art on dA, plus new art of old art by other people because OBViously they do it better...


	7. Hunt

**.:.:: Chapter 6  
.:.:: Hunt**

* * *

"Keepin' up there, Sunshine?" Fang called over to where Lightning was running more or less along side her. She was far from struggling but from the way the pinkette moved, one could tell was not used to running through thick foliage that slowed you and tore at you if and whenever you gave it the chance. Of course Fang had taken into account that she wasn't native to the area—to the world—and that she'd just recovered from life-threatening injuries. But Fang could read her body like a book. Every one of the other woman's muscles was unnecessarily strained. Her footing was all over the place and more often than not, she was wildly off balance. Fang had to give Lightning credit though, despite her struggle, she looked damn good doing so.

For as much animosity as Fang felt towards the Cocoon native, she could not deny the other woman's beauty. Slender and soft, yet strong and most definitely able to handle herself, Lightning was as elegant as she was powerful. The type of elegant that had no place on Gran Pulse.

It had been almost a week since she and Aquinas had found the pinkette and about a day or two since Lightning had fully recovered. It hadn't been decided what the Cocoon native would do now that she was back to full strength so Fang decided to bring Lightning on a hunt. May as well make her work off some of the generosity she'd been given. Surprisingly, the pinkette had been quick to take to the suggestion, agreeing without question. Fang couldn't deny she was surprised. She didn't know exactly how things worked up in the viper's nest in the sky but she was pretty sure there was little room for any real hunting. She chalked it up to curiosity.

A small grunt and snapping of wood brought her out of her thoughts. She landed on a large root protruding off the ground and looked towards the direction Lightning had been in. At first she saw nothing but forest, but then caught a flash of red behind a large tangle of branches and leaves before the pinkette jumped out, off-balance.

"Don't push yourself too hard, sunshine." She teased as if it were second nature, "Wouldn't want you breaking something else."

"Keep calling me Sunshine, I probably will break _something_." Came the equally baiting comment. Fang smirked. Another thing the Gran Pulsian couldn't get deny was the odd yet immense enjoyment she got out of the banter between herself and Lightning. As if the more they bickered, the less awkward it was around each other.

"That almost sounded like a threat." Fang replied, jumping towards the pinkette. Lightning stepped back to give her room to land but did not back away any further. She leaned in close, having picked up on Lightning dislike of people invading her personal space. The two of them had frequently come close to physically exchanging blows in the last few days but had always been stopped by Vanille. Now that they were out of the village, there was little to prevent them from doing so—and they both knew it. Lightning already had moved her hand to the weapon on her back. Fang noticed and smirked, taking the step back and reaching for her own.

The pinkette couldn't deny that she'd been waiting as eagerly as Fang to be able to actually face off against the Oerban in a fight, at full strength. She'd never wanted so much to fight someone, to prove she were stronger, to dominate them in battle. Fang brought out a side of her she'd never thought she'd see—never wanted to show. It threw aside all her Palamecian control and self-restraint which gave way to an impulsiveness that intimidated her. And Lightning refused to be intimidated. It was an endless mess of a circle of emotions she felt around Fang. A whirlpool she couldn't break free of—which only made her all the more unsettled around the Gran Pulsian.

"Would you prefer I call you 'Viper'? Or perhaps 'Princess'?"

"How about my name?" Lightning responded curtly in a low voice, Cerulean flashing defiantly despite her obvious discomfort at the Oerban's proximity, "Can't be that hard to remember."

"Lightning?" Fang raised an eyebrow, "Guess not, considering how strange it is."

"Says the one named 'Fang'..." At this point, they were merely inches apart. Too close. Lightning grasped the weapon on her back and went to draw it. She found her hand stopped and her body pushed backwards. Before she knew what was going on, she was with her back against a large tree, Fang actually pinning her there. The sudden increase of bodily contact momentarily stunned the pinkette, her cheeks flushing, despite herself. She'd have immediately shoved the other woman off if her senses hadn't returned fast enough to realize Fang's eyes were not on her, but something around the tree. Lightning followed the Oerban's eyes and saw the target.

A lone—rather unusually large—Gorgonopsid hovered over an unidentifiable mass of flesh, gnawing at it hungrily. Powerful jaws snapped as it growled with each bite. Her eyes turning back towards Fang, she noticed the look in the Gran Pulsian's eyes. She'd seen it before, in the hunters she'd first encountered on this world. Fang had found her prey. Lightning hesitated before slowly but firmly pushing the Oerban off and away from her, ignoring the immediate missing of Fang's body against hers. Fang turned to her, unaffected by the gesture and put a finger to her lips before pointing at Lightning.

"Wait. Here." She instructed before drawing her lance and moving slowly back around the small clearing with the Gorgonopsid. Lightning found herself obeying without question as she watched the huntress circle her prey. Despite the wild growth and foliage around her, Fang moved without sound, maneuvering around her target silently. Eventually, she stepped into the clearing, behind the creature still feasting on its own prey. Lance raised, Fang prepared herself for either a killing blow or the start of a battle.

Lightning decided to stepped closer to get a better view. Apparently one step was a step too far. Her boot snapped a twig under it. It was a small sound out of place, but it was enough. The Gorgonopsid immediately halted it's meal, eyes turning towards Lightning's position. There may have been a branch or two blocking her view of the creature partially but it was nowhere near enough to hide her from it's own gaze. It growled at the interruption of it's meal. Lightning didn't know what irked her more. Her own mistake or the face Fang was making at her from behind the creature.

As the creature moved to pounce, Fang began to lung at it from behind. The sudden movement gave away her position however as the Gorgonopsid seemed to notice her and dodged—barely—out of the thrust of her lance. It roared as it crouched near the ground, growling at the Oerban huntress.

"Nice going, _Lightning_." The tone of voice in which Fang had said her name made the pinkette actually prefer 'Sunshine'. Before she could move, the Gorgonopsid pounced at Fang. The Gran Pulsian blocked it's outstretched claws with her lance, ducking away from it's snapping jaws. She deflected it away, keeping her distance from it as they began circling one another again.

Eventually the Gorgonopsid lunged again. This time Fang dodged instead of blocked and slashed at one of its front legs. It howled as it hit the ground, rolling once before struggling back onto it's feet. It looked down at it's leg before turning back to his opponent. It roared once more before charging at Fang again. Fang vaulted clearly over it, stabbing down as she did so, piercing the creature through the back, earning another painful yowl. Lightning watched as Fang more or less rode the Gorgonopsid as it bucked and flailed, attempting to throw her off and remove the lance from its back. Keeping her balance, despite the flailing of the creature under her feet, Fang twisted the lance hard. As a loud, bone-chilling snap, the Gorgonopsid immediately stopped it's struggling and fell limp to the ground, unmoving and not breathing.

Lightning didn't have time to be impressed and Fang barely had the chance to jump off the dead creature onto the ground before the pinkette caught a flash of something just outside the small clearing. Darting out of her position towards Fang, she cut off whatever the huntress was about to say in order to parry a pounce of another, similarly large-sized Gorgonopsid with the sword she drew from the sheath on her back. The Gorgonopsid didn't give either women the chance to communicate much else before jumping at them again. Lightning chose to dodge while Fang blocked it with her lance. The pinkette thrust at it with her weapon but it had already moved to circle around Fang and was clawing at her furiously. The Oerban parried each attack with ease but it gave her little room to make any move offensively.

"Any time now, Sunshine." Fang grunted as she was slowly and steadily forced backwards by the pressure of increasingly violent slashes. Lightning gripped her weapon tight as she moved around the two of them and prepared another strike to the creature's side. It noticed the pinkette however and roared at her, easing off its attacks on Fang slightly, realizing the two of them were working together. It seemed to know, however that Fang had killed the other one of its own so remained focused on the taller woman. It dodged another swing from Lightning and jumped at Fang again. The Oerban rolled under outstretched claws, evading the attempt.

As the Gorgonopsid skid to a halt from the pounce, she pulled her arm back, lance in hand. She didn't usually make a habit of throwing her lance but Gorgonopsids strength lied in fast and heavy melee attacks. Taking them down at range was generally safer. And with Lightning, who had little experience hunting, Fang decided safer was better. She moved to let her weapon fly but noticed the pinkette move forward out of the corner of her eye. She'd forgotten to warn her to stay back. By then, she'd already stepped into the throw. The lance left her land but barely missed the target due to the distraction. It flew past the Gorgonopsid and sunk into a rock behind it.

"Nice throw."

"That was totally, completely and entirely your fault." Fang stated. Glaring at one another, both of their attentions slightly distracted from the Gorgonopsid. They froze when they suddenly heard a painful yelp of pain from their opponent, followed by a sickening thud of something hard hitting flesh. The two women looked just in time to see the Gorgonopsid fly to the side, body already limp and lifeless as it hit a tree before sliding to the ground. In it's place stood a very large, very angry Behemoth King, a red lance protruding from it's right shoulder blade.

"_Really_ nice throw." Lightning said, half serious.

"Oh bloody he-" She was cut off by the Behemoth King's roar—infinitely times louder than the Gorgonopsid's. It thrashed it's head a few times before charging at them, "Watch it!" Fang yelled as she dove out of the way of the massive beast. As she scrambled to her feet, confirming Lightning had also successfully evaded the charge, she watched the Behemoth King continued forward instead of stopping and turning towards them.

"Uh..." Lightning looked over at Fang, more than confused.

"It's probably in a rage over being woken up by a lance to the shoulder." Fang sighed before making her way towards one of the trees at the edge of the clearing. The fact the Oerban immediately began climbing the tree did little to ease the pinkette's confusion.

"So..."

"At this point, we'll never catch it on foot." Fang explained without really explaining, continuing to climb higher as she did so.

"So we're gonna... climb a tree...?" Lightning raised an eyebrow.

"Would ya just get your butt up here? It's heading towards Oerba and I'd rather not have a rabid Behemoth King storming through the village." Fang almost let out a groan, "Vanille would kill me..." She paused in her climbing to motion for the pinkette to start moving; which she did, hesitantly. She followed Fang up the tree—which was taller than she initially thought. Eventually the two reached the highest branch that extended up past the surrounding forest. Lightning was momentarily stunned by the view. The forest spanned miles, trees spreading out as far as the eye could see. She could also see Oerba and the lake it sat by. Focusing hard enough, she noticed the path the enraged Behemoth King was taking. It did indeed looked as if it were heading straight for the village. A loud whistle snapped her attention back to Fang.

"Get ready to jump, Sunshine."

"Wha-?" Lightning turned to Fang, whose eyes were not on the Behemoth King nor Oerba. Her eyes were on the sky. Lightning followed her gaze to see a large Wyvern swooping down at them both, "Are you serio-"

"NOW!" Fang cut her off, launching herself from the branch at the winged creature. Lightning found herself doing the same despite the sheer insanity of the action. She was weightless for what seemed like an endless amount of time before she found herself grabbed by the arm by Fang and pulled up onto the back of the flying beast behind the Oerban.

"Chasing an enraged Behemoth King on the back of a giant Wyvern..." Lightning mumbled, the sentence not really registering in her head, despite being an accurate description of current events.

"Welcome to Gran Pulse." Fang said with a chuckle as the creature surged forward, "And Cain's a Svarog." Lightning would actually have gaped at Fang, were she not sitting directly behind her, clinging on for dear life.

"Oh, my apologies to... Cain then." She grumbled.

"Hang on, I'm gonna take him lower," Fang said over her shoulder, "Gonna try to jump onto the Behemoth King's back and get my lance." Lightning felt the other woman turn to actually look at her. The thought of how the wind in the Fang's hair made it look even more alluring crossed her mind briefly, "You gonna be okay back there?" Came the question accompanied by a chuckle.

"I'll manage." Lightning shot a look at the Oerban, "So after you dive off a flying creature onto a charging one on the ground... how exactly are you going to stop it?"

"One thing at a time, Sunshine." Came another amused response as Cain neared the Behemoth, now making its way across the small patch of open ground between the forest and the village, "Just sit back and let me handle this, yeah?" If they weren't whizzing through the air on a wild animal, Lightning would have attempted to punch Fang for the condescending tone behind the comment.

The pinkette did notice that while Cain was gaining on the Behemoth King, it didn't look like they would be able to get close enough to it for Fang to make her jump before it reached the village. Catching Fang's lance protruding out of its back, Lightning thought of the weapon sheathed on her own. She reached back, the idea of using it to at least slow the Behemoth King crossing her mind. As she pulled the weapon from the sheath, she continued to struggle with the idea forming in her head. She had yet to get used to the weapon in melee, let alone use it for a ranged attack—a ranged attack from atop a flying Svarog. She still hadn't figured out exactly why she'd chosen the particular weapon. Her mind flashed back to just before leaving Oerba with Fang.

_::.:._

_Lightning's fingers trailed the weapons laid casually on the weapons rack. Spears and lances mostly, with the occasional sword and bow. There were even standard rifles—Gran Pulsian no doubt but there weren't many different ways to build a gun. She picked one up, feeling the weight of it in her hands. It was significantly heavier than any gun she'd held on Cocoon. It didn't feel right. Nothing seemed to feel right. Her hand instinctively reached for the back of her right hip where her Palamecian weapon once remained holstered. It's vacancy left her feeling vulnerable—more so than even her armor._

_Pushing the past from her mind for the moment and focusing on the present, she continued to search the small armory. Nothing really stuck out to her until she noticed an item shoved unceremoniously on the edge of one of the racks. One would have missed it were they any less observant. The pinkette reached for it and pulled it off the frame. Upon closer examination it seemed like a blade of some sort. It could have been a short-sword but the hilt was far larger than normal—almost cumbersome. The grip was about half the size of the blade and the cross-guard was bulky and wide. As she rotated the weapon in her hands, she noticed wires running inside the cross-guard and along the grip and blade. Was the weapon able to shift? She looked for any indication of such but found nothing._

_It was odd, awkward and seemed incomplete but there was something strange about the weapon that made it hard for her to return it to it's place on the weapons rack. She swung the blade a few times. It was heavier than her Palamecian weapon—obviously due to the fact it was entirely solid and not CrysGen Technology. It definitely did not suit her sword style, which was quick and precise. The sword she presently held was built for heavier strikes that required more a more powerful swing. Yes, the weapon was most definitely wrong for Lightning but there was something uncannily familiar about it._

_::.:._

"What the hell are you planning to do with that?" Fang's voice brought Lightning back to the present. The Oerban was looking over her shoulder at Lightning—at the sword now in Lightning's hand. The pinkette met Fang's eyes briefly before shifting to the Behemoth King still at least about 20 yards away. It would be charging through Oerba any moment now so something _had_ to be done. The pinkette took a deep breath before adjusting into a crouched position on Cain's back, "You can't be serious!"

"Not something I want to hear from someone who jumps out of a tree onto a wild Svarog." Lightning muttered, pulling back her arm clutching the sword, her eyes focused on the Behemoth King. As her grip tightened on the weapon, something clicked—as in physically clicked—in her grip.

"There's no way you can make that throw, that thing's.. not... meant for..." The Oerban trailed off. Lightning also felt something strange happen to the sword in her hands. She turned and watched as it slowly began to move. The hilt began shifting and the blade began to split. Her sheer shock was the only thing preventing her from dropping the weapon as the split blades folded back and the wires from the cross-guard were stretched outward between each of the ends. As small locks—now visible after the weapon shift—clicked into place, Lightning observed the completely different weapon in her hand.

Recovering from the bewilderment first, Lightning's focus returned to her previous target. Still crouched, she gripped the new weapon with her left hand and with her right, slipped her fingers into the hooks now locked at the end of the hilt and pulled back. She felt low hum as a dim glow began to emanate from where she held the main body of the weapon. Focusing only for a moment on the build up of energy at the tip of the hilt near her left hand, she aimed the weapon at the charging Behemoth King.

Her crouched position made it awkward to aim so without thinking—as if forgetting she were about fifty feet in the air on the back of a swooping Svarog—she stood, taking aim once more. Finally lining up the shot, she released the hilt sending a short blast of energy flying at her target. It didn't hit the beast but instead blasted the ground in front of it, effectively breaking it's charge. It diverted to the right slightly, slowing to a stop.

At this point, Cain had decended to about ten feet in the air, circling around the now confused Behemoth King. Fang was too busy gaping at Lightning to follow through with her original plan of retrieving her lance. Lightning pulled back another shot with the weapon as they neared the Behemoth King. She released it, catching the beast in the side, earning a pained yowl. Confusion replaced by rage again, it noticed Cain flying low around it and seemed to be preparing to attack. Lightning pulled back the hilt once more as it began to charge. As it did, Cain swerved suddenly to the left in order to avoid it. Instead of giving up the shot to maintain her balance on the Svarog, the pinkette jumped, using the momentum to propel her head-first at the Behemoth King.

At the last second, she let another weapon blast fly, hitting the charging creature directly between the eyes. It immediately veered off to the right, falling into a roll and skidding to a stop, unmoving. Lightning mirrored the action herself, landing on the ground in a roll but somehow managing to end up on her feet. She let out a breath she finally realized she was holding as pounding of her heart slowly filled her ears. She stood in stunned disbelief at what had just happened, barely feeling the weapon in her hand folding back into sword form. When she finally held it up to look at it, Fang had circled around with Cain and had jumped off the Svarog's back to land a few feet away from her.

"Well... somehow you picking that weapon makes a messed up kinda sense now..." The Oerban said, approaching the pinkette.

"...Huh?" Lightning was still processing what had just happened. She had done some pretty brazen things before but nothing quite as... outrageously crazy.

"That thing's never worked right, always figured it was broken, didn't even think it was Gran Pulsian," Fang motioned to the weapon the pinkette held almost defensively, "It seemed incomplete, nobody's gotten it to work, seemed about effective as stick." Lightning's eyes darted towards Fang's weapon, still protruding out of the dead Behemoth King's shoulder. She wasn't fast enough for the Oerban to miss the glance, "You tryin' to pick a fight..?" She asked in a low voice, unamused. Lightning honestly hadn't meant to come across insinuating that Fang's lance was comparable to a stick but once the thought fell into place, she found herself almost smile.

"-ould probably dance circles around ya barehanded anyway." The pinkette didn't need to hear the full sentence to be aware of what was said. Her almost-smile turned into a full frown as she shot a steely look at the Oerban.

"You mean how you were dancing around the Behemoth King barehanded?" Lightning responded calmly as she could, motioning with the sword in her hands at the creature in question.

"Well excuse me for not having some fancy toy that shape-shifts from a sword to a bow that fires bloody energy blasts." The Oerban pointed at the sword, eying it suspiciously.

"No, you just have a pet Svarog that can swoop down and pick you up at the sound of a whistle."

"Cain's not a pet, he's a Guardian Beast!" Fang retorted, "Every Oerban has one, every Gran Pulsian has one. It's like completing a rite of passage, when you finally find yours." The two women continued to glare at each other, both aware the present argument—present conversation entirely—was just a tad off the mark. But both were still trying to process the recent series of events that they were really just throwing anything they could at one another.

"Why is there a dead Behemoth King at the edge of the village?" A voice caught both of their attention. Apparently the two of them had also failed to notice the small crowd that had begun to form around the area. Lightning and Fang spotted Vanille among them, stepping around the large corpse and making her way towards them, "I wasn't aware Oerba fell under hunting grounds." The small Gran Pulsian addressed Fang, eyebrow raised.

"It got enraged and charged off in this direction." Fang explained, "We followed as fast as we could but it managed to outrun Cain."

"And why would you enrage a Behemoth King in the first place?" Vanille asked, her eyes amused despite her voice slightly perturbed, her arms folded across her chest.

"It was an accident, I was aiming for the damn Gorgonopsid-"

"And what, the sun got in your eye?" Lightning cut in.

"Actually... yeah... _Sunshine_." Fang practically growled at the pinkette, "It doesn't matter now, I had it handled, was gonna catch up and pin it before it could do any damage to the village but Lightning here decided to go all techno-gal on us and use her new toy to take care of things." The raven-haired Oerban motioned to the device. Vanille looked between it and Lightning, a thoughtful look crossing her face.

"Well on behalf of the people of Oerba, I thank you Lightning." Vanille stated with a smile, "You'd think with Fang's affinity for pinning things to the ground-"

"For the love of- She headbutt me!" Came the almost frantic interruption. It was a strange feeling to Lightning. She never laughed, never really found the need nor urge to before. Yet between the icy remarks and snippy retorts shared with Fang, she'd felt the edges of her lips tilt dangerously upward on multiple occasions.

"She did what now?" A voice cut into the conversation. Lightning then noticed Aquinas pop up from behind Vanille. When had she-? Lightning slowly became aware of the sudden, awkward silence that had fallen over the group. Vanille looked as if something terrible was about to happen and Fang looked as though she were about to self-destruct. She opened her mouth to say something—anything to break the silence but Aquinas beat her to it, now gaping at Vanille.

"She headbutt-" She quickly cut herself off and turned to Lightning, her silver eyes bearing into her own, "You hea-" Voice peaking in volume and surprise, she left the question incomplete again as she turned finally to Fang, "She _headbutt_ you?" The question remained unanswered as the same, strained silence fell upon the group again. Fang was returning Aquinas gape with a glare. The two of them speaking volumes without breaking the silence.

That is, until the Sulyyan made a sound Lightning couldn't describe in any other way than a cross between a squeal and a cough.

"If ya gonna laugh, just do it and get it over with!" Fang barked, infinitely less amused than the smaller girl. Aquinas shook her head, waving her arms in front of her.

"I wasn't gonna laugh, I was just..." The girl trailed off for a moment before again, emitting the sound that earned her a headlock from the tall Oerban.

"A... qui... nas..."

"No really... I wasn't gonna laugh... I wasn't laughing!" Aquinas lied blatantly through her giggles as Fang more of less lifted her off the ground by the shoulders.

"You lil' brat!" Fang's actions only proved to make the smaller girl laugh harder. And while she was obviously somewhat annoyed at Aquinas, it was clear in her actions Fang had no real intention to hurt the smaller girl.

Lightning observed the two with a frown. By now she'd expected the two to act as such. Like silblings or close friends that weren't afraid of acting like 7-year-olds around one another. But something irked her that went deeper than just the immaturity. She was already aware she could barely stand being around Fang. But whenever the Oerban was around Aquinas, the animosity seemed to shift to the smaller girl. Normally, the Sulyyan didn't bother the pinkette, she usually stuck close to Vanille while she was around. But the times she and Fang were around each other—more accurately—the times she and Fang would rough-house, Lightning found herself more irritated than not. It wasn't that she disliked Aquinas; she disliked whenever Aquinas was around Fang.

"Vanille, Fang!" A villager called from nearer the village. The four of them turned to see the Oerban quickly making his way towards them. As he reached them, he motioning over his shoulder, "Paddraseans..." His eyes darted towards Lightning for a fraction of a second, "Messengers from Paddra are here."

"Already?" Aquinas spoke up as the two Oerbans also glanced in Lightning's direction, "I knew they were fast but... I figured it take them at least over a week..."

"They want to speak to the chief." Lightning looked towards the male villager, his eyes were on Fang who was staring hard, right back at him. The pinkette raised an eyebrow. Despite several of the tall Oerban's actions—and more frequently her _re_actions—it wasn't all that hard to see Fang as village chief. She was certainly strong enough—in more than one way. And the way she cared about the safety of her people; the way she'd fight for them without question was something to be feared. And there was the fact that the Taejins seemed, at the very least, wary of her. She'd witnessed it at the river when she was first found. She didn't need to be from Oerba nor Taejin's Tower to know it wasn't common practice for one to just attack the chief of another village.

"I'll go, Fang." Vanille said, placing a hand on the taller Oerban before smiling slightly.

"Vanille, it's-"

"Don't worry, I'll handle it." The orange-haired Gran Pulsian merely smiled at Fang before doing the same with Lightning and moving to walk off with the other villager. She paused only to glance at the corpse of the Behemoth King before throwing an equally brief look over her shoulder, "Also, you may want to clean this up..." She motioned to the corpse before continuing past it into the village.

Lightning was momentarily confused. She hadn't thought Fang would let Vanille handle things in her place. And she looked visibly distressed about doing so, so why...? By then, Fang had caught her staring.

"What?"

"Nothing I just... it makes sense that you're chief but I would have thought you'd have handled the Paddraseans yourself." Lightning admit, sounding much more blunt and harsh than she intended. Fang seemed to stare at her for a moment, her expression hard for the pinkette to read. She then noticed Aquinas staring at her similarly. The two Gran Pulsians then glanced at each other before their attention returned to Lightning.

"Uh... Fang... isn't chief of Oerba." Aquinas pointed to the taller of the two. The fact that Fang hadn't smacked or head-locked the Sulyyan told Lightning that Aquinas was entirely serious. Lightning looked between the two, now just shy of completely baffled.

Then who..? The question trailed off when realization began to settle in. She threw a quick glance over her shoulder before turning back to find two sets of highly-amused eyes still staring at her. She had to know for sure.

"V-Vanille?"

* * *

**A/N :.**

This chapter got a little ridonkulous...  
When I finally did finish it, had iTunes up and the victory fanfare track from the FFXIII-2 OST started playing. It was pretty epic.  
Also the scene with Aqui and Fang, I imagined going similar to when Azunyan finds out Ritsu is playing Juliet in that one _**K-On! **_episode. I mean the sound Aqui makes and Fang's general reaction is a tad different but generally the same idea.

I actually like Vanille. Too bad for those that don't =P

As always, arty stuffs on teh deviantARTz =3


	8. Perception

**Chapter 7  
Perception**

* * *

"So since when are we invited to the Paddrasean tea parties with the vipers?"

"Fang." One of the village elders present at the meeting warned the raven-haired woman, "Be respectful." The tall Oerban felt Vanille nudge her in the side with the same message. Fang glowered briefly before rolling her eyes and shrugging.

"What exactly makes this meeting with the people of Cocoon so important that our presence has been requested?" The elder that had scolded Fang asked the messenger.

"Totally what I just asked." Fang muttered and again, was met with a couple of glares and a nudge to the side.

"The priestess has always stood for peace between us and the people of Cocoon." The messenger explained in a cool, calm and calculated voice, very typical of a Paddrasean, "She believes that the matter involves all that live on Gran Pulse. She is also aware of the inconvenience it can place on each city to have their chief removed for the length of the discussion but deemed this particular meeting worth the gathering."

"Why?" Fang spoke up again, ignoring the warnings from her fellow Oerbans, "How will _'this meeting'_-" Her hands were raised, her fingers forming air-quotes, "-be any different from all the others? That, let's be honest, don't ever change a damn thing."

"Fang-"

"What?" The raven-haired woman didn't back down this time, "We're_ still_ butting heads with the vipers, Gran Pulsians are _still_ suffering at their hands. And we're _still_ rushing full-speed towards what could end up as all-out war!" Fang pointed at the messenger, "And the Paddrasean Priestess wants us to sit and talk about it-?"

"Fang, enough!" Vanille cut her off and caught her eye. Fang immediately withdrew, recognizing the warning look in the smaller woman's eyes. Biting her tongue, she obeyed. The rare, fierce look in Vanille's eyes immediately disappeared, replaced with a quick flash of understanding before she returned her attention to the messenger, "Outspoken as it was, Fang does raise a point: what is special about this particular meeting?"

"This is the first meeting where the Captain of the Palamecian Knights—right hand of the Primarch—will be present." The messenger stated simply. There was an uneasy hush about the room. The elders present began murmuring between one another. Fang merely raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Vanille.

They were vaguely aware of the governing powers on Cocoon. They were most familiar with the Sanctum, which made up the bulk of Cocoon's military, and were the most frequent visitors on Gran Pulse. Fang had had her share of removing some of the more unwanted groups that had decided to mess around on Oerban territory. Of course once asked about this, the Sanctum denied any such activity. It didn't matter. Any viper off that damn moon had no place anywhere near her village, in Fang's opinion. It was the entire reason she was so uncomfortable with Lightning living among them.

But the so far the Sanctum soldiers she'd come across weren't entirely impossible to deal with. They were well-trained but not for fighting on Gran Pulse. What concerned her more were the soldiers that were no doubt from Cocoon but most definitely not Sanctum. They fought on an entirely different level, with different weapons and armor. Fang assumed they were the Palamecian Knights the messenger was referring to. And while she'd never fought one herself, she'd heard stories and witnessed one—and only one—of these knights take out an entire Taejin hunting party as if swatting flies. She'd seen devastation a mere group of three could cause an entire village. Fang blocked the following thought from her mind if only to keep from bursting out in a rage in the middle of the meeting.

No, these... knights—these 'super soldiers'-didn't appear nearly as often as the Sanctum did on Gran Pulse, but when they did, they left just as much death and destruction in their wake. In her mind, most of the Sanctum soldiers were just grunts following orders. While she wouldn't stand for them encroaching on Oerban territory, her intent behind engaging Sanctum soldiers was always purely to keep them away from her home. It would be different with a Palamecian Knight. She had little doubt that were she to ever meet one in combat, she wouldn't hesitate to attack them with the intent to kill.

"-ang?" Vanille's questioning voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Wha-huh?" She looked around, blinking at the eyes that were on her.

"Would you mind finding Aquinas?" The smaller Oerban asked, masking the concern in her voice quite well, "As a Sulyyan, I think she should know about this... she's also probably still with our other, more recent guest." Fang never felt comfortable leaving Vanille's side but considering where they were, Fang decided to let it go and obey. She nodded before moving to leave. As she exited the building, she heard the messenger mention something about their newest 'guest'. She had half a mind to stay and find out exactly what about Lightning had caught the attention of the Paddraseans but a bigger part refused to allow herself to be bothered by anything to do with the outsider.

Sighing and shaking her head, she moved away from the building in search of Aquinas.

Meanwhile, in another part of Oerba, more specifically by the lake, Lightning sat under a tree at the edge of the water. She was presently examining the bowblade she had found. It was still folded in sword mode. She honestly hadn't quite figured out how to fluidly shift it into bow mode yet. It baffled her how she somehow managed to do so without trying—on the back of a flying svarog no less.

Her thoughts pulled away from the weapon in her hands slightly at the thought of Cain and what Fang had said about Guardian Beasts. All Gran Pulsians had one? It seemed unorthodox but not entirely surprising. Unlike on Cocoon, the Gran Pulsians left their wilderness untamed—lived within it rather than contain it. Though in comparison, the wilds of Gran Pulse were far more feral than on Cocoon. The Gran Pulsians wouldn't have been able to control all of it if they tried. Yet for all its ferocity and chaos, the world below Cocoon seemed so much more... harmonious, serene, free from any political nonsense.

The pinkette's eyes drifted upward, towards the floating moon. As beautiful as it was, the more time Lightning spent on Gran Pulse, the more Cocoon looked like a cage, suspended in the sky—unnatural and out of place. She frowned. While she had been exiled, and found an unusual peace on Gran Pulse, Lightning had still been a Palamecian Knight and citizen of Cocoon; the troubling thoughts on the world above weren't exactly welcome.

"Careful, it might burn your eyes out." The comment tore Lightning's eyes from Cocoon to where she saw Aquinas sitting on a low wall along the path a few feet away. The pinkette blinked, attempting to process the words. The Sulyyan motioned back towards the moon, "Something the elders tell the children when they misbehave; keep your attention away from the viper's nest, it'll burn your eyes out if you're not careful." Lightning noticed something different about the silver-haired girl but couldn't quite put her finger on it. She did notice that Aquinas' attention was now on her—more specifically her hands. She remembered the bowblade she was holding.

"So you really got it to work, huh?" Lightning shifted the weapon in her hand, "Nice to know somebody's taking care of it." The pinkette looked back over at Aquinas, confused.

"You know what this is?"

"No, but I knew the Oerbans had a strange weapon that's unlike any on Gran Pulse." Aquinas explained, jumping off the wall and walking over, "They treated it like it was some kinda of bad luck charm. Shoved it in a corner to gather dust." Lightning didn't know how to read the look on the Sulyyan's face. It was strange and sad, undeniably focused on the bowblade.

"If you didn't want it gathering dust, why didn't you take it?" The pinkette asked. The question seemed to throw Aquinas for a second before the girl shook her head and laughed.

"Nah, I could never use that, too heavy and bulky." Aquinas lifted her left leg briefly, drawing attention to the small sheath on it, "Not my style." Lightning found herself curious as to exactly what 'style' Aquinas was referring to. So far all the Gran Pulsian's she'd encountered—which she realized wasn't many—had wielded spear-like weapons. Most of the weapons she'd seen in the armory earlier in the day were generally large, daunting almost. Yet though she hadn't actually seen Aquinas draw her weapons, they couldn't have been more than a foot or so long, and the sheath on her leg practically hid them from view so it didn't help their size in terms of lack of intimidation.

"Hey now," Aquinas' voice brought her eyes back up to meet eerie silver, "You have your fancy bowblade thing there, these babies-" The Sulyyan motioned to her weapons, "-are mine." Lightning merely raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just trying to figure out how you can deal any kind of damage with them." Lightning didn't make a habit of underestimating anything. But even as a newcomer to Gran Pulse, she found it difficult to believe such weapons were enough against the dangers of the wild.

"Ah but that's the beauty of them, sais strength don't lie in dealing damage." Aquinas explained with a prideful grin on her face. Lightning, once again, grew confused.

"Then what are they for?" The Sulyyan thought for a moment before taking a few steps back and motioning for Lightning to get up. Her curiosity getting the better of her, the pinkette pushed off the ground and stepped away from the tree.

As she saw Aquinas raise her leg and pull the weapons from their sheath, Lightning finally got a better look at them. They were like small daggers, but instead of a blade was a thin shaft that ended just short of a point; the two side-guards faced opposite directions; the handle was wrapped in a white fabric or cord of some sort, providing the grip. They were simple yet oddly exotic, seemed as though they could pose no threat against anyone with a more standardized weapon—yet their distinctive shape alone was enough to give the wielder's opponent pause.

"It'll be easier to show you." Aquinas stated, flipping the sais around in her hands until she fell into what looked like a loose combat stance.

Lightning hesitated for a long while before she found her grip tightening on the bowblade. While she was curious as to just how sais worked in actual combat, she also saw the opportunity to get a better feel for her own unusual, unconventional weapon. Stepping towards the Sulyyan, Lightning's other hand moved to also grip the bowblade. She wasn't used to using both hands to swing a sword but perhaps it would at least steady her swing since doing so one-handed used more energy than she was willing to spare.

"Try not to cut me into pieces right off the bat, yeah?" Aquinas said with a another motion for Lightning to advance. The pinkette didn't know if it were snark or actual concern in the girl's voice. She wasn't usually the one to make the first move but since the premise behind the fight was for learning purposes, she complied. She swung with both hands, finding it significantly easier than doing so with one, but also found her entire body following through with the swing. It left her more open than she'd have liked.

Aquinas had merely evaded the strike. Lightning made a second and third attempt. Both times Aquinas evaded. The pinkette frowned.

"You aren't showing a whole lot." Lightning muttered as she took another swing. Once again, the Sulyyan merely ducked away, her sais making no contact with the bowblade.

"Maybe if you give me a little more to work with?" The comment stung, like a small jab with the sais to her side. Lightning's frown flickered into a scowl for a moment as she lunged at the girl's torso, thrusting out with the bowblade. This time, instead of evading, Aquinas parried with one sai before twisted it, locking the tip of the bowblade with one of the side-guards. Reflexively, Lightning pulled the bowblade back but before she could, Aquinas hooked the other sai into one of the folds of the weapon. With a firm pull, she managed to force Lightning forward. And as quickly as she had locked them, she removed her sais and whirled around, aiming and elbow to an approaching Lightning's face. The pinkette barely reacted fast enough to duck and spin out of reach.

"Sulyyans aren't quite as... built for combat... as the other tribes." Aquinas motioned for Lightning to come at her again, "So we tend to avoid combat as much as possible." Switching back to her single-handed wielding, Lightning swung again and again. Each time, Aquinas parried or locked up the bowblade before countering or directing it away from her. It threw Lightning off at first, but the pinkette quickly realized what the Sulyyan was doing. She often used a similar technique herself while she had her Palamecian weapon. The smaller girl was using the force of Lightning's blows against her. The pinkette also noticed that Aquinas never made any directly offensive attacks. All the Sulyyan did was defend and if she did strike out, it was only as a counter and even then, never with a sai.

Quick to catch on, Lightning realized what Aquinas had meant about the sais not being meant for damage dealing. Their strength lied in locking up the opponent's weapon—controlling it almost. As she continued to test Aquinas' technique. She could see how easily the small girl could turn the fight in her favor. She could see how easy she could make the attacker frustrated enough to start slipping up, eventually giving the sai-wielder the advantage. Even Lightning, who saw through the basic strategy of the technique, was slightly irked at how effectively Aquinas was making her own weapon equally ineffective.

Deciding to change her own tactic, she began using quicker attacks, leading with an attack from the bowblade then following up with a series of kicks. Slowly she began gaining ground and began retaking control of the fight. She thrust out with the bowblade, anticipating Aquinas' lock. When the Sulyyan did so, Lightning kicked at her wrist, preventing her from doing the same with the other sai. She quickly spun, kicking the bowblade out of the grip of the first and followed through with a heavy swing downward. The maneuver caught Aquinas off-guard, sending her rolling to the side though ending up on her feet. Lightning went to continue on the offensive but as she started to raise herself out of the crouch she was in, she felt a tug at her neck. She caught an amused look on the Sulyyan's face before she looked to see one end of her scarf pinned to the ground by a sai.

"You're good." Aquinas said, twirling the sai she still had between her fingers, "Picked up the weakness of the technique a hell of a lot quicker than most Gran Pulsians—if they pick it up at all." The girl tilted her head slightly as Lightning met her eyes, "We have a general rule of thumb here on Gran Pulse," Aquinas motioned to the sai trapping the pinkette by the scarf, "Always be aware of your immediate surroundings. On Gran Pulse, touching the wrong plant, stepping on the wrong rock, leaning on the wrong tree can get you killed. You need to be aware of what isn't attacking you as much as you are of who is."

The words sinking in, Lightning reached down and pulled the sai free. She'd expected it to be light but it almost felt like a toy. Examining it up close, she also saw as simple a design as it was, it was made with the utmost care. The cord around the handle was wrapped tight and perfect. The side-guards were meticulously positioned on either side of the main shaft, which had characters that she assumed were of the Gran Pulsian alphabet carved delicately into it.

"It's about balance of focus. You focus too much on the target, you become one." Aquinas brought her attention back to the fight. What the Sulyyan was saying made sense, but for some reason something about the words she used rubbed Lightning the wrong way. The pinkette stood and held the sai up. Aquinas motioned for it, as if predicting the pinkette's next move. Flipping the sai to grasp it by the shaft, Lightning pulled her arm back and threw it at her opponent. It flew fast and hard, on target, directly at Aquinas. Yet Lightning was again, unsurprised as the girl caught the sai with ease; as if she'd caught a leaf fluttering in the wind.

"Nice throw." Was all she said before grinning at Lightning again, the playful look in her eye returning. In a swift movement, the girl made a throw of her own, with the other hand, sending a sai at Lightning. The pinkette deflected the weapon with the sword, hearing it fly up and over her. As she lowered the bowblade, she saw Aquinas move to advance. She mirrored the action, once again tightening her grip on her own weapon. As they grew nearer however, Lightning noticed a flash of blue and red to her right.

She barely managed to adjust herself to evade the lance that impaled the ground she would have been running across. Skidding to a stop, she looked and saw Fang standing in front of Aquinas with an intense glare that honestly didn't suit her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The Oerban asked in a low voice.

"Fang we were just-"

"Quiet, Aquinas." Fang cut off the protesting girl behind her as she pulled her lance out of the ground and pointed it at Lightning, "I leave you alone for ten minutes and you're picking fights in my village?" Lightning's jaw tightened, "You really are a viper, you want nothing more than to harm anything and everything here on Gran Pulse." Lightning matched Fang's glare with equal intensity. She was not in the mood for any more false accusations. She'd had enough of those recently to last two lifetimes.

"Fang, we were just spar-"

"Viper wants a fight?" Fang spun her lance, crouching, ready to lunge forward, "I'll give her a fight."

"Fang don't-"

Lightning barely had time to steel herself against the powerful blows from Fang's lance. She'd seen the woman wield her weapon before so she knew her style was vastly different from Aquinas', for example. Heavy blows send shocks through Lightnings hands and up her arms each time she parried. The force the each swing she could feel even as she evaded them.

"You people think you can just waltz onto our land-" An overhead blow forced Lightning to one knee, "-bully us into give you what you want-" The pinkette rolled away from a heavy swipe, "-and if we don't-" Lightning flipped backwards in an attempt to get out of Fang's reach, "-you think you can take it by force." The Oerban was relentless. Whereas Aquinas had done nothing but defend, Fang chained attack after attack, the power behind them the only reason Lightning couldn't take advantage of the massive openings in her defense.

In another flip out of reach, a flash of light caught Lightning's eye. She glance up and saw the sai she deflected earlier jutting out of an overhanging branch of the tree they were fighting under. Without time to second guess, she ran at Fang. The Oerban smirked at the aggressive move, no doubt preparing to launch another string of attacks. As she drew near and as she saw Fang swing her lance, Lightning jumped, reaching to grab the sai buried in the branch overhead. It was just deep enough to enable her to use it to swing herself over Fang completely. She landed behind the Oerban in a roll. As she found her feet, she turned and swung her bowblade in a counter-attack against her opponent who was already recovering into another lunge.

"STOP!" A voice pierced the air before either bowblade or lance could do the same to their targets. Lightning found her weapon caught and trapped by Aquinas who was now standing between her and Fang. And between Aquinas and Fang stood Vanille. She hadn't blocked Fang's attack but something told Lightning that the taller Oerban would have risked losing her weapon entirely it if meant keeping Vanille from any type of harm. Fang had pulled back her lance within a second, all aggression in her stance immediately disappeared at the sight of the small Oerban.

"There's enough fighting going on, we don't need it in the middle of our home." The glance that the small Oerban threw over her shoulder at Lightning told the pinkette she was addressing her just as directly as she was Fang. Lightning let out a sigh before giving Aquinas a look of resignation. The Sulyyan slowly pulled her sai from the bowblade and stepped away, a sheepish smile spread across her face. It was wiped off in flash as she turned to Vanille, catching the questioning look on her face.

"What? We were just sparring!" She defended, "Then Fang charges in and-"

"Hey, _she_ was chargin' at _you_, what the bloody hell was I supposed to think-"

"I _tried_ to tell you—what, were you afraid she was gonna headbutt me?" Silence fell upon the group like a sudden downpour of rain. Even Lightning was a little thrown by the question. She met Fang's eyes for a moment, sharing the bewilderment before they both turned their gaze to Aquinas. The Sulyyan held Fang's gaze for another second before bursting into a fit of giggles. Lightning watched Fang close her eyes and put a hand over her face, turning to Vanille.

"Can I at least hit _her_?" The question remained unanswered as Vanille began to chuckle herself.

"Alright enough, really." Vanille eventually spoke up again in a more serious tone, looking between Aquinas and Fang, "We have to get ready to head to Paddra." Fang all but groaned as she ran a hand through her hair.

"You're heading to Paddra?" Aquinas raised an eyebrow at Vanille.

"Yes, the Sulyyan's and Taejin's were requested to join as well." Vanille put a hand on Aquinas' shoulder, the other brushed aside a loose strand of hair from the Sulyyan's face as a concerned look crossing her face, "And you, you said you'd be heading back to Sulyya." Lightning picked up on the distressed tone in Vanille's voice. Upon noticing the slightly excessive amount of attention the Oerban seemed to be giving the Sulyyan, Lightning finally registered what had been different about Aquinas.

Her hair was no longer a shimmering silver, but more grey in color, dull almost. Her eyes were same and she looked tired, out of breath, like she'd done more than just spar a little. She had mentioned Sulyyans weren't as 'built for combat' but something told her that Aquinas' fatigue wasn't natural. She felt herself looking away as grey eyes caught hers.

"What about Lightning?" Aquinas motioned to the pinkette, "If you and Fang are off to Paddra, who's gonna babysit?"

"Lightning will be joining us." Vanille stated as if it were an already-known fact.

"What?"

"WHAT?"

Both Fang and Lightning voiced at the same time, one significantly more audibly surprised than the other.

"The priestess has requested to meet our guest." Vanille explained simply, motioning to the pinkette, smiling. Lightning was growing strangely uneasy about whenever Vanille smiled. As annoyingly sweet as it was, it was like she knew something you didn't and by the time you found out, it would not end well for you, "How would you feel about that Lightning? You get to visit the largest city on Gran Pulse, may as well make the best of your stay right?"

"I..." Lightning began but wasn't entirely sure what to say. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to be.

"And maybe you can meet with some of the visitors from Cocoon, see if you can go home?"

Lightning froze at the suggestion. She had found it strange that she hadn't been asked what exactly she'd been doing on Gran Pulse. Even Fang hadn't been curious, that or she didn't much care. Over the past week she'd been in Oerban, on Gran Pulse, she'd somehow become numb to the fact she'd been exiled. It still pained her to think about it but she'd started thinking about it less, altogether.

"Wouldn't be surprised if the Sanctum clowns were the ones that put her here in the first place." Fang scoffed, obviously joking around but the little amount of air that suddenly disappeared from Lightning's lungs was far from funny to the pinkette.

"Regardless," Vanille quickly pushed the conversation forward, out of the awkward silence, "It'd be rude to turn down the offer from the Paddrasean Priestess. You don't mind terribly, do you Lightning?" The pinkette looked over at Vanille, fully aware by then that declining the invitation was clearly not an option. She merely nodded, "Great, well then, if I go get prepared to leave tomorrow morning, will you two at least attempt to keep from biting each others heads off?"

"Wouldn't worry about biting, where their heads are involved." Aquinas muttered with a snicker. Lightning rolled her eyes, while Vanille put a palm to her face. Fang merely cleared her throat before rolling her shoulders and stretching her neck. In a swift jump, the Oerban pulled the sai from the branch above and held it out to the Sulyyan.

"I'll give you a thirty second head start."

"Have fun on your trip, maybe I'll see you there, try not to kill each other before we meet again!" Aquinas said quickly with a grin and wave before grabbing the sai and darting off towards the water. Fang made no move to follow, as far as Lightning saw, as she watched Aquinas dive—with an unexpected, yet natural grace—into the lake.

"Now, I'm going to go make arrangements." Vanille said with a clap of her hands as she started moving away, back into the village, "Oh, and Fang, make sure Cain doesn't wake up the entire village when he picks you and Lightning up tomorrow morning?" She smiled again before turning and continuing away.

"Wait, Cain... Lightn-wait, what?" Fang spoke up, confused. Vanille paused, looking over her shoulder.

"The Priestess thoughtfully sent an extra wyvern for me to take since _some_ of our guardian beasts don't _fly_." The small Oerban chuckled before turning once again and continuing on her way, "Besides, I wouldn't want to make Cain carry all three of us all the way to Paddra. He should be fine with just you and Lightning." The two taller women were left standing, staring at Vanille's retreating form. The two of them slowly looked at one another, finally processing what Vanille had suggested—or rather, decided. And both of them, for the second time that day, spoke in unison.

"What?"

* * *

**A/N :.**

I... have nothing to say.


	9. Flight

**Chapter 8  
Flight**

* * *

Contrary to what others may have guessed, Lightning could actually be a quite a heavy sleeper. The only reason she was ever awake before dawn were the dreams—or rather, the nightmares—that had plagued her since before she could remember. Lightning couldn't recall much of them at all; only that they were there, just short of her memory as she woke up feeling disturbed. And while she had by now gotten used to waking up in this way, it didn't make it any easier to deal with.

As a Palamecian Knight, most of her mornings she spent with her weapon, refining her technique and style. She saw no reason to change the habit while on Gran Pulse. So she had made her way out of her room, onto the roof of the building, and begun her routine. She was greeted by the gentle breeze and light touch of sunlight that bounced across the water of the lake.

She was glad for the new weapon, for it demanded even more of her concentration, wiping her rude awakening from her mind faster than usual. She had already begun to get used to the weight of it and could now both wield it single-handedly and with both hands—making up for the openings it left—with relative ease.

As the morning grew brighter, the pinkette caught a flash of a shadow cross her path before there was an unnatural gust of wind that hit her back. Slowly she turned, weapon at the ready by reflex. Cerulean eyes widened when she saw Cain, perched upon the large beam that jut out of the roof. The svarog looked to be making itself comfortable on the perch, stretching his wings and neck. Eventually he seemed to notice Lightning and immediately grew still as it studied the pinkette as hard as she was him.

Slowly, Lightning lowered the bowblade and relaxed her stance. Cain grunted again before returning to stretching and flexing his wings. As she dared to begin taking the few steps toward the edge of the roof, Lightning took in the relatively large winged creature clearly for the first time.

While his body wasn't exactly bulky, it emanated power. She had remembered as she'd clung to his back the day before that as awkward as it was, it hadn't entirely been uncomfortable. Which is why she found it strange to see Cain's body covered in black scales that shimmered blue and purple. Each of his powerful wings stretched at least a few yards across. Behind him swayed a long, thin tail that ended in a dangerously sharp sort of blade. His short yet sturdy legs ended in massive claws that gripped the beam under him.

As she stopped a mere few feet from him, Lightning caught the svarog's eyes. They were a bright red, as enchanting as they were fierce. His jaw, barely open, revealed teeth meant for ripping and tearing. Yet as she approached, he'd made no move that hinted at any hostility towards her. In fact, if anything, he almost seemed intrigued. As she took the last two steps towards him, she raised a hand. Tried as she did to prevent it from doing so, she found it shaking. Cain slowly moved his head and neck to meet her. As his warm snout touched her palm, the power she had seen in him, she then felt.

She immediately registered how much sense it made that Cain was Fang's Guardian Beast. He was a hunter, born and bred. His form emanated power and ferocity yet had a calm magnificence to him that was hard to explain. The pinkette backtracked a moment. Calm? Magnificence? Fang?

"-elling you he probably didn't realize she was on his back at the time!" A voice prevented her from continuing that particular thought, "I wouldn't be surprised if he bit the viper's head off at... the sight of... her..."

The voice that had trailed off no doubt belonged to Fang, this Lightning knew. Her hand remained gently stroking the svarog's nose as she turned to look over her should to find the Oerban huntress slack-jawed and wide-eyed next to an equally astonished yet highly amused Vanille.

"Well, wouldn't want you surprised so early in the morning." Lightning spoke, pulling her hand away. As if in protest, Cain grunted again before stretching his neck further and brushing against the side of her face, brushing her hair. Lightning tilted her head slightly, nudging back against the svarog, her eyes holding Fang's gaze.

"Since we're all on the topic of early morning surprises..." Vanille piped up after clearing her throat, trying in vain to keep a straight face. "Would it be too much to say that the only thing you really have to worry about is Cain experiencing a good ol' Cocoon headbutt?" Lightning almost felt sorry for the taller Oerban as she actually felt the intensity of the glare she was receiving.

"Right." Was all Fang said before suddenly tossing something at Lightning. Taken off guard, Lightning could barely make out a large sack held together by netting of some kind before suddenly she was all but shoved aside by snapping jaws. Cain growled as he snatched away the sack in her hands with his jaws, nearly pulling her arms off at the shoulders had she not jumped back, releasing her own hold on the piece of netting. As she blinked away the shock, she saw the sack was actually a large hunk of meat and the netting was some long piece of vine—apparently edible as Cain devoured it hungrily along with the meaty chunk.

A loud scoff pulled Lightning's attention away from snapping jaws as cerulean met emerald.

"Sorry to surprise you," Fang sneered, "So early in the morning." Never had Lightning met anyone that could make her feel so many different emotions with the span of thirty seconds. She hadn't actually decided how she felt about that.

"Oh Cain!" By then, Vanille had made her way over to the snacking svarog and was stroking his neck, "Just because you have Fang's appetite doesn't mean you have to share her table manners."

"Hey, I eat with gusto, thank you very much." Fang's attention was pulled from Lightning as she walked over towards Cain and stroked the underside of his jaw as he finished his breakfast, "I happen to have a good relationship with food." Lightning watched as Fang suddenly poked at Vanille's side, earning a yelp and jump from the smaller woman, "Maybe not as much as you..."

"Hey!"

As the two bickered, Lightning found the same, annoying pull at her heart as she did the day before with Aquinas. She looked away from the two, willing it to stop since it was too strong to ignore.

"Lightning?" Vanille's voice directed at her regained her attention, "Did you have anything to grab before we head off?" The question seemed a tad silly since Lightning really had nothing. Her clothes, technically even the weapon in her hands still belonged to the Oerbans. She just shook her head in response, "Alright, well I'm meeting the messenger near the north side, we can follow the trail from there."

"What? Why not just take the mountain route? I'd take half the time." Fang asked, confused.

"The mountain route doesn't have nearly as good a view."

"Why the blazes would the view matter..." The raven-haired woman trailed off, as she realized the answer herself, emerald eyes drifting back over to the pinkette, "Are you kidding me..?"

"What? I was so sure since you enjoy so much to spend as much time in the air as you can-"

"Yeah, when I don't have to worry about the passenger in the backseat falling off." Fang motioned over her shoulder, no doubt who and what she was referring to.

"I'm sorry, I'll try not to prevent any more Behemoth Kings from running around rampant through any more villages by shooting them in the head with a form-shifting weapon off the back of a swooping svarog." Lightning retorted, sheathing the bowblade and folding her arms across her chest.

"Okay, okay, none of that." Vanille shook her head, walking over to Lightning with a small pack, "Your breakfast." Lightning took the small pack and nodded, still wary of refusing to the small Oerban in any way.

"She can eat it in flight, if we're gonna take the scenic route, we may as well head off now." Fang stated, stepping up onto the low wall around the roof. In a swift fluid motion, she jumped and landed on Cain's back. Lightning hadn't noticed the day before but to both her surprise and fascination, Fang appeared to ride Cain side-saddle. It was unexpectedly charming to Lightning—who quickly disregarded the thought as soon as she acknowledged it, "You gonna be joining any time soon, Sunshine?"

Lightning barely hesitated before mimicking Fang's movements, landing behind her and taking a seat, using one of the fins along Cain's back as a hold. The svarog under them let out another grunt as he got used to the additional weight. With a click of her tongue and pat to his neck, the svarog spread his wings wide. Lightning felt her hold on the fin tighten as Cain's wings began to move. She vaguely registered Vanille waving as the orange-haired woman backed away from the edge of the roof.

"Try not to fall off, yeah Sunshine?" Fang's voice reaching her over the sound of Cain's beating wings. The pinkette felt the svarog lift off the perch and hover near the building a while, "At least not until we're higher up... and farther from the village." Lightning opened her mouth to talk back but was cut off by the suddenly lurch of the svarog upwards. She clenched her jaw at the rapid climb but found it eventually go slack as suddenly she could see the entirely of Oerba, along with the lake. And as Cain leveled out, she found herself utterly stunned and completely captivated by the sight. She'd seen images from Cocoon but nothing like this.

"Close your mouth, Sunshine. You'll catch a bug in there." And just like that, the magic was gone. Fang's voice somehow managed to cut through the awe and wonder. Lightning forced herself to keep her eyes off the Oerban woman—who she also just realized, sat barely a foot from her.

"Oh, shut up." The pinkette muttered, no longer in the mood to bicker with Fang. She couldn't have begun to guess why but the other woman decided to leave the matter for she said nothing else. A strange sort of silence settled between them as Cain continued to fly.

They'd flown in silence for almost hour before Lightning began to feel the need to shift her position slightly. She shifted, slowly at first as to not cause Cain discomfort. Upon confirming the creature she sat upon had no qualms about her moving, she continued to adjust her legs into a more comfortable position. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of Fang's bare back under her sari. There was a birthmark that ran at least a four or five inches down the right side, just below the black top she wore under her sari. Inexplicably drawn to it, Lightning snuck a closer look. Upon doing so, she noticed it looked less like a birthmark, but more like a scar. But the only way one could have gotten such a scar was if they'd received a life-threatening blow in combat—if they were run through with a sword.

The more she stared a it, the more she realized how long she'd been holding her breath. She found her hand move on it's own, reaching for the Oerban's back. It trembled as it drew closer to the skin. She hadn't realized Fang turning to glance over at her.

"Hey! What're you doin-?" Though the Oerban attempted to shift away from Lightning's outstretched hand, she ended up moving to meet the pinkette's fingers. And as Lightning's fingers met damaged skin something felt as though it grabbed Lightning by the wrist and pulled her into darkness.

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_FANG! NOOOOOO!"_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_L-Light..?"_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_Fang... please just... just stay still..."_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_Light, I can't..."_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_Stay with me..."_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME AGAIN!"_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

Fang, from her position in front of Lightning, watched as the pinkette seemed to freeze, her eyes fogging over.

"O-Oy... Sunshine?" The Oerban asked hesitantly, honestly not sure what had just happened. There was a jolt at the feather-light touch of Lightning fingers against her back, then a chill like she'd never felt before flood through her body, followed by a dull ache just below her chest. She briefly turned away from the pinkette to calm Cain who had apparently also felt the strange exchange on his back. As she turned back to Lightning however, she only just caught the pinkette's scarf as it fluttered over the side of her Guardian Beast.

"Oh bloody hell." She murmured as she saw Lightning in free fall, not struggling which meant she was mostly likely unconscious. The Oerban cursed again as immediately directed Cain into a dive after the Cocoon native—without a second thought. She ignored the genuine concern growing in her chest as she and Cain gained on the falling pinkette. She called for Cain to catch her with one of his claws as gently as possible but the ground was rising to meet them dangerously fast.

At the last second, Fang saw Cain manage to snatch Lightning out of the air but by then it was too late to pull up and avoid the trees of the forest below. She braced herself as Cain attempted to maneuver himself through the trees he'd dived into. Branches were broken as the svarog growled, trying to slow himself. The svarog howled as he collided with the few thicker branches in his path. Eventually he slowed enough to where he could land on a large branch with one claw. Fang jumped from his back, using the smaller branches to reach the ground, now only about a dozen feet below. As Cain released Lightning from his grip, he steadied himself on the branch he was on. Fang caught the still-unconscious woman in her arms and lay her on the ground gently.

Though her eyes were closed, she was trembling, shaking. And it was getting worse. Still cursing up a storm, Fang wasn't sure what to do. She grabbed the pinkette's hands but it did nothing to calm the woman down. Bead of sweat were forming at the edges of Lightning's face, her body was growing hotter, as if rapidly developing some sort of fever. Fang was so focused on Lightning she didn't hear the two other wyverns land in the trees near Cain.

"Fang? What happened?" Vanille's voice however, pierced her state of unexpected and certainly unwanted concern for the pinkette, "Fang what happened, we saw Cain go into a dive..." The smaller Oerban gasped as she reached the two other women, "What's wrong with Lightning?"

"I don't bloody know!" Fang exclaimed, motioning at the pinkette as Vanille knelt on the other side of her, looking over Lightning's body, "We were just flying and suddenly the woman decides to grab at me but then pretty much just falls off Cain unconscious!" As Vanille continued to examine Lightning, the shaking began to get even worse, "What's wrong with her?" Soon the shaking seemed to turned into a full-on seizure as the woman suddenly began gasping for breath.

"I... I don't know, her ribs should be healed." Vanille said, concerned as she attempted to ease Lightning's movements, "She shouldn't be having trouble breathing, there shouldn't anything pressing against her lungs." She then paused, as if realizing something before reaching into the pouch on her side, "Hang on, I still have a sip's worth of this." She pulled out the small bottle given to her by Aquinas a few days before. She pulled the top and moved it towards Lightning's mouth but the seizure was making it difficult to get it anywhere near her lips. She looked up at her raven-haired companion, "Fang, I need to get her to drink this... it's the chance we have to make the seizures stop."

Fang moved to hold Lightning by the shoulders and head but even unconscious and without control of her body, Lightning was putting up a fight—a damn good one. It was still too difficult to pour the contents of the bottle into her mouth. As she continued to struggle with Lightning, Fang noticed the pinkette seemed to be gasping words now. After a few gasps, she realized it was just one word, one name, her name.

"Fang..." And something clicked in the depths of her mind.

"Give me that." Fang ordered before snatching the bottle from Vanille's grasp. She slipped the liquid into her own mouth before leaning down and forcing her lips on the pinkette's. Even through the jerks of Lightning's body, Fang managed to slip the elixir from her own mouth into Lightning's. Fang kept her lips on the other woman's, ensuring none of it was wasted. Not moments after the exchange was made, Lightning's body began to relax and the struggling against Fang's hold ceased.

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_And as if the world ending—again—wasn't enough, you drop your confession on me..?"_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_And **you** have no idea what it's like to realize the person you care about most is gone..!"_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_You think figuring it out is hard?"_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_Try finding the answer only to have somebody else have to sacrifice it."_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_And do nothing but watch because it was what had to be done..."_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

Cerulean eyes shot open as Lightning took in a breath. Or at least she would have it her lips weren't currently covered. Covered by something soft, warm and... wet? Her senses rushing back to her, the pinkette felt the tingling sensation she felt throughout her body end as her eyes focused on what was above her—who was above her.

Green eyes, matching the forest around them, stared down at her with emotion Lightning couldn't begin to describe. The emerald orbs were so close. Too close. Apparently Fang agreed as the the Oerban all but jumped back, away from Lightning as she sat up, sliding herself in the opposite direction. The two of them hadn't broken eye-contact yet, however. They couldn't—too busy trying to process what the hell had just happened.

"Well..." Vanille, who had also witnessed the entire series of events, spoke first. She cleared her throat, glancing between the both of them with a different sort of confusion—the amused and highly intrigued kind, "That's... one way to do it."

* * *

**A/N:**

Hmm, shorter than I expected. But acceptable.  
Cain is a hungry, hungry svarog.

Also I think I've made it a goal to bring up the headbutt-of-many-lulz every chapter =\


	10. Paddra

**.:.:: Chapter 9  
.:.:: Paddra**

* * *

The first thing Lightning noticed about Paddra other than it's sheer size, was how different it looked from Oerba. It was much less a village as it was a full-sized city. Spanning across an entire valley, around mountains—_through_ mountains. Where the city couldn't expand outward, it had expanded up and through. In fact, the surrounding walls of rock were likely the only reason she couldn't see traces of the city from above Oerba.

Unlike the buildings of Oerba, most of the structures of Paddra were stone, massive yet without missing complexly-carved design. Citizens crowded the streets along with carts pulled by chocobos. As more and more of the city came into view, Lightning's eyes widened at the sight of one particular structure. A temple, intricately carved out of part of the largest of the mountains surrounding the city, stood higher than any other point of Paddra. White stone bathed in sunlight made it glow. It was as intimidating as it was magnificent. It reminded her of Palamecia. In the back of her mind, Lightning admit that while still vastly different—holding a natural feel that Cocoon could never give—the entirety of the Gran Pulsian metropolis reminded her somewhat of her former home.

"Welcome to Paddra, Lightning." Vanille's voice came from in front of her. As she turned to the woman a shadow passed over them, diverting her attention upward. Cain flew above, dipping and diving sporadically. She pulled her eyes from the svarog in an attempt to prevent her mind from drifting to evens of earlier in the journey.

She'd never had anything like the nightmares in the middle of the day before, while she was awake no less. In fact, they didn't feel like nightmares, they felt like memories—which made them all the more terrifying. And these had felt real, painfully real. Her hand moved to touch her lips, the faint aftertaste of the potion she'd been given still lingered along with something she couldn't quite place. A quick flashback of Fang's lips on hers jerked her fingers away as if touched by fire. Her hand moved to rest on her chest, over her heart where a dull ache had begun to pulse in time with her heartbeats.

"-ou alright?" Again, Vanille brought her back to reality, "You aren't feeling faint again are you? I don't think I could catch you if you decided to go skydiving again." She was obviously joking around but Lightning found it less than amusing. She shook her head.

"I'm fine." She lied.

"Okay, well I'm taking him down." Vanille informed, referring to the wyvern they were on. Putting aside the chaos in her chest, Lightning tried to focus on the vast city of stone that looked as if engulfing them completely. It didn't take long to realize they were descending towards the large temple in the mountains. The nearer they drew to it, the more impressive it seemed. She almost didn't realize the wyvern under her had ceased to move, landing on a perch cleverly designed for creature and rider to come and go.

She followed Vanille's lead and climbed off the beast, barely managing to before it would've thrown her off to shake itself and stretch it's wings. The movements were followed by it lifting off again almost immediately.

"Bye bye! Thank you!" Vanille called with a big wave from beside the pinkette. Lightning raised an eyebrow. As strange as the gesture was, somehow it did not seem all that odd for Vanille to be thanking a creature of the wild. Nor did it seem entirely unfeasible for the small Oerban's message to have been understood by said creature.

A loud whoop brought Lightning out of her thoughts before Cain suddenly swooped past them, a taller Oerban landing just a few feet away with a satisfied grin on her face. As the pinkette's gaze met Fang's the both of them immediately looked away, avoiding eye-contact as one would avoid looking directly into the blinding sun. The awkward atmosphere settling in was not missed by Vanille who honestly wasn't sure whether or not to attempt to change it.

Before any of the visitors to Paddra could do anything, the messenger that had travelled with them appeared, having dismounted his own wyvern. He was accompanied by two taller men. Lightning noted that they were clothed in mostly light-colored robes—sporting bead-work that resembled Vanille's but had a distinct different pattern to them. Her gaze was drawn to the article around each of their necks though. Necklaces of some kind was her immediate assessment, each about an inch and a half thick, inlaid with small gems. From one side of the necklace, attached with a delicately crafted hook, hung a few beaded strands, braided together that reached down to their waists, gently swaying freely in the breeze. Before pulling her gaze away as not to stare, Lightning could have swore the rings around their necks were sharp—blade like, even.

All three men bowed curtly before Vanille who returned the gesture immediately.

"We aren't late, are we?"

"Please," Fang scoffed from her place off the the side, "We only left at the crack of dawn." She let out a rather impressive yawn.

"Oerba Yun Fang, we welcome you as well." The guards on either side of the messenger gave another bow. Somehow Fang casually waving dismissively at them took away from the formality of the situation. Lightning almost felt she should be embarrassed. Catching Vanille rolling her eyes, she had the feeling the smaller Oerban actually was, just a little. A moment later Lightning realized their eyes were on her. She wasn't surprised that she was met with both curiosity and a hint of suspicion. She had little doubt they were aware of who she was, or at least where she came from—more importantly where did didn't come from. She may have been dressed as an Oerban but even she knew she carried herself differently from any Gran Pulsian. Not that it mattered to her, mind you. There was little she could actually do about it. And her presence had been requested by the same person that had invited Vanille to Paddra. If they had any issues with her, they'd have to take it up with their priestess.

"The representatives of Taejin's Tower and Sulyya Springs have yet to arrive." One of the taller men continued, reverting his attention back to Vanille.

"And the visitors from Cocoon?" Vanille inquired.

"They will not be arriving until later this afternoon." The messenger informed, "The priestess wished to hold a meeting between the Gran Pulsians beforehand—and requested a meeting with you personally as soon as you arrived."

"Well, I'd hate to keep the Priestess waiting." Vanille all but jumped, a grin plastered on her face.

"Unfortunately Oerba's... visitor will have to wait to meet the Priestess at a later time." The messenger's voice was neutral but Lightning knew better. His following statement confirmed her suspicions, "These temple guards will escort you during your wait." The pinkette understood the precaution and knew better than to cause a fuss but it didn't annoy her any less that she'd been assigned two watchdogs.

"Hmmm." Vanille caught all of their attentions, glancing briefly at Lightning before breaking into yet a grin. Silently and without much of a second thought, the pinkette braced herself, "I don't think that'll be necessary."

"It won't?" Lightning hadn't even needed to look at Fang to have known the taller Oerban had been amused and in agreement at the messenger's suggestion. The pinkette could practically hear the disappointment in the other woman's voice.

"Of course not." Vanille waved dismissively, with a small nod towards Fang, "Fang will gladly accompany Lightning around the temple and the surrounding area, right?" It was more of a statement than a question as the small woman's had kept her gaze on the Paddraseans present.

"I will?" Fang honestly sounded confused and conflicted, as if Vanille—somehow possessing the word of god—by merely stating something, made it so.

"She always says how boring these kinds of meetings are."

"I do?" Lightning would have smirked in amusement at Fang's utterly bewildered look if she weren't focused on Vanille and her increasingly impressive ability to more or less bend anything and anyone at her will.

"It'd give her an excuse to get out of it."

"But... she is your personal guard-"

"Fang is here as my friend as well as guardian." Vanille corrected quickly, "Besides, I feel perfectly safe within the temple grounds and have no reason for a bodyguard, unless you see otherwise..."

"Of course not!" The messenger almost sounded insulted, "We've ensured the utmost security for the leaders of Gran Pulse."

"Then I choose to allow my friend to accompany my guest until the main event." With a clap of the Oerban representative's hands, the matter was settled With a brief look between them, the Paddraseans nodded and bowed before stepping aside to guide Vanille into the temple. As she followed their hosts, Vanille turned to look at the other visitors over her shoulder, "Fang you remember most of the temple and the surrounding area right? Don't wander too far. And no fighting."

"Yes mother." Fang muttered, running a hand through her hair, sighing exasperatedly. She caught a glimpse of Vanille, still looking over at her as she walked—a disturbingly unfitting look of seriousness crossing her face.

"No. Fighting." The smaller Oerban mouthed before grinning and waving at Lightning—who hadn't missed a second of the previous action, "And you, no headbutts. Have fun!" With that she rounded a corner with the Paddraseans, out of sight.

For a long time, neither Fang nor Lightning moved.

"Is it always like that?" The pinkette broke the silence first, "When Vanille... suggests something?"

"You mean when it's like she bends the fabric of time and space by merely speaking?" The hyperbolic question didn't need an answer, "Pretty much."

Both women turned to glance at one another, almost acknowledging a shared look of amusement. It was quickly replaced by the combined refusal to share anything with the other, causing both of them to avert their eyes. Another silence settled in, this time not so much full of awe as it was of awkwardness.

Fang was silently cursing her shorter companion. For as unexpectedly responsible and insightful Vanille could be, she could be a downright troublemaker when she felt like it. And recently, it seemed to Fang the Oerban representative had been feeling like it more often than not. It was easy to blame their recent visitor so it's what Fang did—because it was what she believe. Everything had just been so out of balance since she'd brought the pinkette to Oerba. _**She **_had been so out of balance. Fang didn't necessarily have a particular routine of how she spent each day. In fact, she was probably more spontaneous and carefree than most other Oerbans but for some reason the last week had just seemed surreal, so... unnatural. And she had not doubt the reason was a certain pinkette that'd fallen from the sky.

And the whole debacle that particular morning. What in the damn hell was that? Forget that the viper decided to take a dive off Cain five hundred feet in the air; forget that she'd suddenly lapsed into a violent seizure as she did so; Fang was most distressed at just how much the entire event concerned her, worried her—more or less scared her senseless. Senseless enough to... She swallowed a lump in her throat as she licked her lips. It took every fiber of her being to resist the urge to touch her lips. To give any sign that she'd spent more than a moment's thought on her actions in easing Lightning's seizure.

She couldn't even begin to explain what had compelled her to—for lack of a better word—force-feed the pinkette the potion. She could deny it all she wanted but the action, as brash and desperate as it'd been, had felt completely natural. And more disturbing to Fang, familiar-no. No, she'd done it to save a person's life. The Oerban continued to refuse the painful thoughts prodding at her both mind and soul. The dull ache in her gut has still not subsided. It had been to save the viper's life, that's all. She would have done the same if it had been anyone else-

"-an't believe I'm here." The tail end of a thought, unintentionally muttered aloud, brought Fang back. The pinkette haunting her thoughts stood looking out at the view from the tier of the temple they were standing on. Oddly enough, Fang found the chance to start a conversation an actual distraction from her internal chaos.

"_**I**_ can't believe I'm playing babysitter... again!" Throwing her hands up in annoyance, Fang began moving away from the wyvern perches, in the opposite direction of where Vanille had gone. Lightning, despite herself, followed.

"Yet here you are," The pinkette countered in an equally mocking voice, "At the behest of your leader." The words sounded more amusing aloud than she had expected, "Her... way with words aside, how does someone like Vanille end up chief of Oerba?"

"Oh, nothing to it really." Fang replied, her voice sharp, cold and bitter—unexpected by Lightning, "You get hand-picked into one of the more powerful clans of the village, spend the most of your life in your older brother's shadow, lose said older brother to his own stupidity, abide by some of the more ridiculous traditions of the Oerban people and there ya go." Lightning remained silent as she followed Fang along the edge of the temple towards a railed platform.

A temple guard stood at the one of the corners of the platform, noticing the both of them but remained unmoving. Fang merely nodded at the guard before stepping past him and moving to the outer edge, overhanging the tier of the temple they'd been walking along. Lightning hesitantly followed, ignoring the narrowed eyes of the Paddrasean. His leery gaze lingered only a few moments before he turned to a small stone pedestal next to where he'd been standing. Upon placing a hand on it, it began to glow with a similar light the pinkette had seen before. The CrysGen technology back on Cocoon.

There was a small jolt through the platform under her feet before she felt it begin to descend. Looking towards Fang—past Fang—she saw the rest of Paddra begin to draw nearer. As she stepped towards the Oerban overlooking the edge, somewhat eager to take in the view herself, Lightning found herself slightly amused. She'd seen the elegantly carved steps leading down from the temple. But like everything in Paddra, it seemed, the set of stairs were intimidatingly long. She couldn't say how she'd even know but it seemed just like Fang to take an elevator down to the city.

However, despite the stunning view from where they were, Lightning slowly realized she found herself actually more compelled by the conversation they'd been having—putting aside the fact that it was as close to an actual conversation they'd ever had, of course.

"Couldn't Vanille have declined the decision?" She continued where they'd left off.

"Of course she could've." Fang answered almost immediately, strangely unruffled but the sudden question. She said nothing more though, which caused the pinkette to quirk an eyebrow, "I honestly thought she would've—and I wouldn't have held it against her." The Oerban sighed heavily, "Children have no business leading an entire people."

Lightning silently agreed, her mind flashing back to the Primarch. Even before their unexpected meeting Lightning had known he was just a boy. She had known that his while his accession to Primarch had quelled unrest throughout the people, it was too soon, and that Cocoon would surely feel the repercussions of putting a child in charge. So frail, so weak, so helpless. How could a child, one that could hardly take care of himself, take care of the entirety of Cocoon?

"-ut it was the only responsibility she couldn't ignore." Lightning tuned back into Fang who was still explaining Vanille's own 'rise to power', "Don't let her 'voice of god' fool you, she's still a child." The care and tenderness in Fang's voice—while seemingly uncharacteristic—was honestly sincere, "She scares just as easily as any other, whether she'll admit it or not. I've always had to take care of her, help when she's hurt, stop her when she wanted to run away." Lightning also noted a subtle sadness in Fang's tone, "But when it came down to protecting the people of Oerba, she refused to run away."

"Honorable thought, but was it really the right decision." Lightning voiced before she could help herself.

"I didn't think so." Fang admitted, surprising the pinkette, "But the village elders have always favored Vanille and have been guiding her since she agreed to take lead."

"So it's more of a collective power than just Vanille."

"Something like that." Fang muttered with a sigh, "S'worked out better than I thought so far so I guess I can't really argue." Lightning noticed that while Fang had ended on a semi-positive note, there was still a subtle somber tone to her voice. She suddenly frowned. Somehow the bond between Vanille and Fang that she thought she'd understood, seemed that much stronger. And as admirable as it was, Lightning couldn't help but feel completely

"And your role as guardian?"

"Vanille is my friend-" Fang hissed, suddenly throwing a glare that could send a chill down even Lightning's spine, "-before she is my charge." The Oerban mirrored the words Vanille had spoken earlier—only with more venom than pride. Biting her tongue, Lightning waited for the Oerban to continue, "I would do whatever it took to protect her—even before I decided to join the Yun clan-" The Oerban suddenly seemed to catch herself, pulling away and stepping back from the pinkette, "why am I even talking about this? To _you_ of all people."

"Because I asked?" Lightning responded bluntly. What? It was the truth. The pinkette found herself suddenly frowning. Somehow the bond between Vanille and Fang that she thought she'd understood, seemed that much stronger. It had a different feel to whatever it was she would deny she felt between herself and Fang. Unlike the waves of chaos between herself and the darker-haired Oerban, Fang and Vanille's bond was clear, simple, strong and unfaltering. But as admirable as it was, the more she thought of it, the more the realization of the pain in her chest grew—the clearer the pain became. Sorrow? Anger? ...Jealousy? Yet, the clearer the pain became, the more confused Lightning felt. It was a damn mess and she hated it. She hated Fang for it.

"Well it's none of your damn business." The Oerban huffed, irritated that she'd been speaking of things she usually avoided—to Lightning, no less. To be honest, the fact that it was Lightning probably aggravated her more. What right did a viper have to know anything about herself or Vanille?

For all the effort the both of them had put into to avoid looking at one another, their eyes were now bearing into one another's. Cerulean battled emerald. Both women forcing themselves to hold their glare until the other pulled away. Neither of them allowing themselves to succumb to the increasingly powerful urge to do so.

A suddenly clearing of one's throat caused both women to turn their attention to the guard at the corner of the platform. With an unreadable look on his face, he motioned past them. Fang and Lightning both turned to see they'd reached the ground. A short path from the elevator led to the street, bustling and noisy. Lightning noted that the buildings were much larger than they looked from the sky. From where she stood, the pinkette saw a few of them towered over the busy street below. They were even more architecturally astonishing from ground level. Another forced cough from the temple guard made her realized she'd yet to step off the elevator.

As she did so, her eyes returned to the small glimpse of Paddra through the gap in the treeline that separated the temple grounds from the street. Despite herself she found excitement playing in the back of her mind at the thought of seeing more of the city.

"What you waiting for Sunshine?" Fang was already halfway to the street, "An invitation?"

* * *

**A/N :.**

RL.


	11. Pulsians

**.:.:: Chapter 10  
.:.:: Pulsians**

* * *

"GRAN Pulsians." Fang corrected again, irritated.

"Are all _Gran_ Pulsians really that afraid of Cocoon?" Lightning corrected herself. She wouldn't have needed to but she'd been distracted taking in and observing Paddra.

The two of them had been wandering around the streets around the base of the temple. Most of the streets were lined in small stores or stalls, selling anything under the sun, it looked like. The streets weren't as packed as some of the others farther from the temple, as Lightning recalled from flying above the city. During their walk, Lightning had eventually discerned that word of the Palamecians arriving in Paddra had spread. More often than, not she'd caught parts of a few different conversations about the impending visitors. While most were merely questioning in nature, there was definitely a sense of fear and anxiety among the Paddraseans—general unease.

"That's one way to put it." Fang grumbled a vague answer to her question. Not really an answer at all. And Lightning hated unanswered questions.

"That's one way to avoid the question." The pinkette didn't miss the glare the Oerban shot at her. She merely met it with a quirked eyebrow.

"What do you want me to tell you, Sunshine?" Fang shrugged as they turned onto another side street, "Your people scour our territory, destroyin' the land to find crystals you use for Etro knows what, and should we stand in your way, ya tend skip the pleasantries and go straight to force." Though part of Lightning's immediate reaction was to argue, she actually had very limited knowledge on the Cocoon people's dealing on Gran Pulse, "What's funny is that even that kinda information isn't exactly common knowledge." Lightning grew confused, "Most of what the general population of Gran Pulse knows is based in old fairy-tales."

"What like the 'vipers' in the sky breathe fire, steal naughty children in the night and have them for breakfast?" Lightning suggested, absentmindedly. She stopped as she saw Fang make a strange face at her.

"Well... yeah, actually... pretty much." The Oerban laughed as Lightning felt her own features form a look of unamused ire coupled with a flash of mild disbelief, "Fairy-tales never hurt anyone, but I've seen what you vipers can really do." The atmosphere between them suddenly grew dark again as Fang's expression dulled. She didn't seem to take well to the indignant look that crossed Lightning's face, "It's like all you people know how to do is destroy."

"As opposed to Gran Pulsians that make a game out of hunting people like animals?"

"Those were Taejins." Fang snapped, turning and pointing a finger at the pinkette, "Not all Gran Pulsians are ruthless and bloodthirsty."

"And not all of us from Cocoon are domineering and destructive." Lightning retorted, keeping her voice calm, resisting the urge to swat the other woman's finger away from her face, "You really don't know why Cocoon needs crystals from Gran Pulse?"

"No, but I can't say I care if it means you're just gonna run over whoever happens to be living on top of 'em."

"Y'know, there's a principle often employed in civilized society called _sharing._"

"Really now?" Fang feigned astonishment, "Did you know there's also one where you _ask_ before you _take_?"

The two women were practically dueling with their eyes and words again. They'd come to a complete stop at the corner of the street they'd been walking along. However despite how tempted they both were to throw more than just words at one another, they both fought the urge. Lightning because of her own decision to keep as low a profile as possible since they'd arrived; and Fang because of her smaller companion forbidding fighting before they'd left her.

"Ugh, whatever, I'm going to get a drink." Fang sighed, motioning towards a small store across the street. She turned to cross but hesitated, almost awkwardly as she glanced at the pinkette. It took Lightning a second to realize it was probably Fang trying to figure out if she wanted to join—or rather, if Fang wanted to actually ask her if she wanted to join.

"No thanks." Lightning decided to put the other woman out of her misery.

"I didn't ask you." Fang huffed.

"Well I'm not thirsty."

"Good."

"Great."

"Fine."

"Perfect." The both of them stared—or glared rather—at one another through another few moments of silence before Fang broke it, along with the eye contact.

"I'll be back, you... stay here." The Oerban motioned to the pinkette as she started across the street, "And don't... wander off..." Lightning raised her eyebrow, "Or break anything..." Fang turned to leave once more but hesitated again, "Just... stay put-"

"Oh would you just go and get your drink already!" Lightning pointed to the shop across the street, "I'm not five." Fang simply scowled before turning to cross the street. Lightning rolled her eyes as she watched the Oerban reach the shop and disappear inside. As soon as she had, the pinkette let out an unexpectedly heavy sigh. She was not used to putting so much emotion—so much focus—into mere bickering.

As she reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose, she slowly became aware of a small commotion a little ways down the street. Speaking of bickering, she thought as she saw a rather large man quarreling with a smaller woman. Lover's spat? Upon further observation, she saw the man had two others hanging about near him and the woman seemed to be arguing for one of the stall-owners. It was an intriguing sight as first, such a hulk of a man standing by a woman a third his size. Then suddenly, there was a stab of dull, nostalgic pain in her chest, similar to when she'd been flying with Fang—arguably similar to what she felt whenever she was around Fang in general. She pulled her gaze from the commotion, hoping it'd help in ignoring it.

A loud slap resonated through the air, followed by a soft yelp. Immediately the pinkette clenched her jaw. She inhaled slowly she shook her head, cursing under her breath. So much for laying low. Letting out the deep breath, she'd already started moving towards the small group. The woman now holding the side of her face, the stall-owner at her side, trying to pull her away from the three men.

"Now look what you've gone and made me do." The large man grumbled, motioning towards the woman and the stall-owner.

"Just because you're here at the request of the priestess doesn't mean you can do whatever the hell you want!" The woman still did not back down. Lightning gave her credit for that. As she drew close, further assessing the situation and those involved, her eyes widened at the recognition of the biggest of the men causing the commotion. The whisper of pain in her side remembered too.

"You Paddraseans, always fussing about things that don't matter." The man towering over the woman and stall-owner stated, "It's why you're weak; why it makes you prey to those stronger than you." For a split second, a stab of fear pierced Lightning's chest. Her first morning on Cocoon once again became fresh in her mind, the helplessness she'd felt but thought she'd gotten over, apparently still haunted her.

"As opposed to being bull-headed, and pointlessly violent?" The woman continued to argue, even through the stall-owners attempts to stop her, "Please, you Taejins are no different than the beasts you command."

"You better get a lid on that one," The Taejin scoffed, directing the comment at the stall-owner, "She'll bring you nothing but trouble."

"The only trouble around here is you!" The woman retorted, continuously ignoring the stall-owners pleads for her to back down, "Why don't you go back to thumping your chest and throwing rocks at each other to see which of you is the most thick-skulled?"

"Oooh, now you're gonna get it, girl." One of the other two Taejins laughed as the leader of the pack took a step towards the woman and stall-owner.

"Y'know there's not-being-able-to-take-a-hint, then there's downright stupid." Lightning voiced before she really thought about it. All five of them turned toward her.

"And who in the hell are you?" The third Taejin stuck a finger out at the pinkette.

"More importantly," The second pushed him out of the way to get a better look at Lightning, "Why are you sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?"

The leader remained silent as his eyes landed on her, immediately recognizing her. If Lightning remembered correctly, from the haziness of her time spent semi-conscious thanks to him, his name was Virrez. Her jaw tightened as another memory of the damage and pain he'd inflicted to her ribs rushed through her. As if he knew this, Virrez's eyes flashed with mild amusement.

"This has nothing to do with you, stranger." The woman this time, voiced before any of the Taejins could continue to object to her interruption. Her eyes were cold as Lightning met her gaze, "You should really move along." The words were warning and dismissive. Because of course one wouldn't be thanked for trying to help. Lightning almost regretted the decision to intervene.

"I'm more interested in why a viper is wandering around by themselves." Virrez spoke up, eying Lightning up and down, sparking the urge to bury her fist in his face despite the constant impulse to back away from him. The other Gran Pulsians were confused for a moment while they processed the statement. When they did, all eyes were on her, the conflict between them seemingly rendered inconsequential Well, that was one way to break up a fight...

"What business does the likes of you have in Paddra.?" Virrez continued, "I knew the Oerbans were soft, but to give the likes of you such a garment?" The pinkette grew confused for a moment before realizing her was staring at her neck—at the scarf around her neck.

"Wait, what?" One of his lackeys asked what had crossed the pinkette's mind.

"The scarf she wears," Virrez motioned at Lightning with his chin, "The Oerbans have some weird tradition where only the best hunters of the Yun clan wear scarves like that—usually the one assigned personal guard to their chief." The pinkette raised an eyebrow. The scarf was Fang's? Impossible. Fang wouldn't have allowed her to wear it—plus, red wasn't her color.

"So where's your_ 'chief'_, viper?" The third Taejin jeered, "You get lost?"

"I was just trying to enjoy my visit." Lightning shrugged, "Then I heard a bunch of delinquents acting like jackasses and that... pretty much ruined it."

"What'd she say-?"

"Did she just-?"

"Careful viper." Virrez's voice grew low and venomous as his eyes narrowed, "You may be here as a pet of the Oerbans but that doesn't mean you get to involve yourself in Gran Pulsian business."

"Business that involves rough-housing women in the street?" Lightning raised an eyebrow, "Guess I was mistaken when I thought meager bullying was below even the Taejins.

"He's right," the stall-owner spoke up, his eyes darting between Virrez and Lightning, "You should really go." Lightning glanced at each of the Gran Pulsians in turn, in slight disbelief. Were two arguing parties-having—already gotten to the point of exchanging blows—now in silent agreement over the fact that they didn't want someone from Cocoon getting involved? The pinkette didn't know it their pride as Gran Pulsians—or hatred for Cocoon—was admirable or downright absurd. Taking a breath, she motioned with a hand down the street, her eyes on the Taejins.

"After you."

"As tempting as it is to play with you, I'm going to have to insist you leave first." Virrez motioned towards her, "You have about 10 seconds." One of his lackeys took a step forward, hand reaching for her. She eyed it with a dangerous look in her eye.

"And you have about 5 seconds to pull your hand away." She gave a sharp warning of her own. The Taejin hesitated but with a glance at his... faithful leader, he continued. Well, Lightning thought, he couldn't say she didn't warn him. Not a split second after he touched her, he yowled in pain. The pinkette had slapped his arm up, grabbed his wrist, yanked down hard and twisted—all in one fluid movement. The Taejin stood awkwardly, his body turned to the side to try any make up for the angle at which Lightning had his arm in a lock.

"I _really_ like my personal space." She muttered, her eyes meeting the leader's gaze. It only lasted a moment before she heard the second Taejin lunge at her. She swiveled around, evading his attempt to grab at her. With the first Taejin's wrist still in her grip, she spun around to his side, kicking him firmly in the back, sending him stumbling towards Virrez.

"You're gonna pay now, viper." The second Taejin had turned and was running at her again. She easily evaded the charge and ducked under the swing he threw, whirling around. She blocked a kick to her side and the few jabs at her head. While she'd _heard_ more of the Taejins' reputation as fighters than actually _seen_ or _experienced_, the little she had experienced, reminded her not to underestimate them for a second. And the fact that they were underestimating her just then was probably the only reason it felt like she was fighting amateurs. She'd have to end the fight quickly, before they got serious—or worse, Virrez decided to finish what he started during their first encounter.

As the Taejin swinging at her grew more and more frustrated, the wilder his attacks grew. Another mad lunge at her was evaded—only this time she grabbed him by the back of his collar, using his initial momentum to whirl him around and send him flying into a different stall. As she did so, she side-stepped reflexively at the sense of someone coming at her from behind.

The other Taejin stumbled past her. He whirled around with a blow aimed at her head but she ducked and elbowed him in the gut, sending him a stumbling few feet backward. She watched as he angrily grabbed an empty crate discarded near the edge of another stall and ran at her. The crate gave him extra reach and an added need for caution but it was the same as if he were swinging his fists wildly—and blindly. Lightning maneuvered herself around him as he swung at her. She kicked the crate up and out of his hands before doing the same to his chest. He stumbled backwards, failing at the attempt to catch her leg mid-kick. As the crate came down, she grabbed it and shoved it into him, knocking him back yet again. With one last kick, she broke the crate and sent him all but flying backward, crashing through a store-front display.

A yell from behind her signaled the Taejin that she'd thrown into the stall had picked himself back up and was charging at her again. She had to give them props for persistence. Easily evading, she once again, used him momentum to grab an arm, twist it behind his back before sending him, off-balanced, down the street. He stumbled as he tried to maintain his footing but ended up falling on his side, right in front of a chocobo-pulled cart. The suddenly obstacle startled the poor animal, sending it rearing to the side and the cart behind it toppling over, the contents spilling out onto the Taejin.

"You really should look both ways before you cross."

"And you really should have walked away." A voice behind her said before she was grabbed by the shoulders. Not hesitating a second, she ducked out of the grasp and threw a punch to give her time to create distance between herself and her opponent. Her fist was caught mid-punch. Virrez's hand was so large, it easily enveloped the pinkette's entire fist. Lightning forced down the sudden flare-up of fear and grit her teeth in focus. The slight tightening of his grip on her fist however, shattered what focus she could muster. She suddenly realized she'd raised her free arm to protect her side as she felt the pang of phantom pain in her chest again. Lightning struggled to regain her focus. She had to move, she had to get some distance from him-

"What. The bloody. Hell?" A voice suddenly broke through the tense atmosphere. Both Lightning and Virrez looked to see Fang standing a few feet away, drink in hand, her eyes gaping at the scene around her. Eventually they stopped on Lightning, "Seriously, I leave you alone for two minutes..." Her gaze drifted to Virrez, who's eyes were still on Lightning, "Well... at least you're making friends..." The Oerban eyed Lightning's gripped fist. With the tension somewhat broken, Lightning went to yank her arm away but Virrez's grip remained firm—not necessarily as threatening anymore, but firm all the same.

"Let her go, Virrez." Fang said—warned—in a low voice. The Taejin didn't respond, nor did he adhere to her order. At least not immediately. Eventually Lightning felt him loosen his grip and immediately she jerked away, wasting no time in doing so. With a rather large exhale, Fang continued to survey the damage. Wincing particularly at the chocobo that was still slightly ruffled at the sudden body that'd been thrown in front of it out of nowhere. As her gaze finally met Lightning's again, she raised an eyebrow, "What was that about not being destructive?"

"They started it." Fang gaped at the pinkette incredulously.

"Really...? _Really_..?" Not even she could believe Lightning would use THAT line.

"You, Oerbans and Taejins." Yet another additional voice demanded their attention. A few temple guards marched over to the scene while others began dealing with the damage done, "We are here to escort you to the temple for the negotiation planning, at the Priestess' request."

By then, Lightning had made her way over to Fang and the other two Taejins had again, picked themselves up and regrouped behind Virrez—still glowering at the pinkette.

"C'mon." Fang tugged on Lightning's arm as they were led away by the guards, "Before you get into any more trouble." The pinkette rolled her eyes but didn't argue as she followed Fang and the guards. The Taejins followed after them but there was more or less a wall of temple guards between them—no doubt on purpose. The adrenaline that had been coursing through her moments before, while in Virrez's grip, had begun to dissipate as they all made their way back up to the Paddrasean temple in an awkward, almost uncomfortable silence.

It became much less so as they entered the temple, however. The interior took Lightning by surprise. It was even more breathtaking than how it looked from the air. One inside the main entrance, there was a long hallway—at least a few dozen feet long leading to what looked like a larger, open space. Along either side of the hallway, ran streams of water flowing slowly and silently, from the opening at the end. Light reflecting off the water illuminated the hallway, casting constantly changing ribbon-ed patterns along the walls and ceiling. What was strange was that there didn't look to be any other light source. As if the water itself was lighting the area.

As they were led closer to the end, Lightning noticed along the sides of the hallway were more passages, lit by less... extravagant means. A few she noted temple guards were patrolling, other she saw people in heavier cloth conversing in hushed whispers.

As she finally did step out into the large room she came to realize it wasn't so much a room as it was a courtyard of sorts. The area stretched out farther than Lightning had anticipated—farther than what seemed possible, taking into account the view of the exterior. As the pinkette's eyes drifted upwards to see half the area uncovered, the light of day shining through an opening above, the other half was pure, natural rock, slanting inwards as it went up. They were standing in an atrium, uncannily similar to the main area of Palamecia—only unlike the Cocoon structure, where it had a multitude of floors leading up to the opening in the roof, the temple merely had walls of natural rock. And much like the exterior, the slanting stone was as intimidating as it was impressive.

Lightning's attention was brought back down to ground-level, noticing a fairly large structure—or more accurately, model of some sorts—standing in the middle of the open area. Lightning had seen many things in Palamecia. The citadel had many strange devices that were not frequently used by the rest of Cocoon. Most weren't even used by the Palamecians and were merely kept as memories, like items in a museum. Lightning would have thought having been around old creations and contraptions, she'd have at least had some kind of impression as to what the bizarre device did. But she found she honestly had no clue. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before.

The overall shape was round—egg-shaped almost. What looked almost like strands of metal; gold, silver, bronze curled into one another near its top, spread wide to create an almost cage-like structure in the middle then came back together near the base in an even bigger tangle. The base itself was semi-submerged in a large pool of water which seemed to be the source of the water flowing down the hallway from the entrance. Though the liquid was crystal clear, Lightning couldn't see what was holding the curious contraption afloat and upright.

"This way." A called direction interrupted her before she could examine it further.

Their escorts led her down yet another large hall towards a smaller room. As she stepped inside, greeted by a large stone table surrounded by more than a few others. Immediately she caught sight of Vanille who did not look amused as she made her way towards them. She barely registered the Taejins passing them and placing themselves at the opposite end of the table that the small Oerban had walked from.

"Less than an hour!" She looked between Fang and Lightning, the glint of anger in her eyes and sharpness in her voice keeping them both from interrupting, "Less than an hour I leave you two alone and you're causing all sorts of chaos!" She pointed a finger between the two of them, "What did I say before you left?" As frustrated as she looked and as successful as she was at keep them from talking back, both Fang and Lightning silently noted that only Vanille could be both overbearing and adorable at the same time.

"Well, technically, you only told Fang 'no fighting'..." Lightning stated as she and Fang shared a brief glance with one another.

"Sunshine's got a point." Fang added with a small gesture towards the pinkette, "And she didn't headbutt anybody." Vanille looked even less amused than before.

"Wow, _that's_ impressive." A fourth, familiar voice called from behind them, "I woulda thought getting them to agree on _anything_ was impossible for even you, Vanille." The three of them turned to see Aquinas walking into the room with a grin on her face, "Can't say that I don't wish I was there, though." She giggled, throwing a glance at the Taejins who only looked mildly annoyed.

Lightning noticed that Aquinas seemed different again. The eerie shine in her silver hair and eyes had returned, similar to when they'd first met; vastly different from when they'd last seen one another. The pinkette wasn't surprised that Aquinas was the Sulyyan representative. She found it a little odd that she was by herself, however.

Eventually, Lightning also became aware that none of the Gran Pulsians were conversing one way or the other, and that all their eyes were on her. She suddenly felt severely uncomfortable. However when she noticed the grin on Vanille's face, accompanied with a slight nod—a motion towards her, she realized they were all looking past her. The pinkette hesitantly turned, coming face to face with—arguably—the only person she didn't recognize.

The small figure had long hair, silver like Aquinas but without the odd shimmery tone; a golden wreath adorned her head; piercing green eyes that could put Fang's emeralds to shame. She had the face of a child that bore an expression only one that had lived much longer could. She wore surprisingly casual-looking clothes that at first reminded Lightning's of Vanille's but upon closer observation, were distinctly different. Though similarly decorated by beads, they seemed much more ceremonial than any other Gran Pulsian Lightning had taken notice of. Beaded bands were wrapped around both the girl's arms and hands, one of which held a large flower.

"You must be Oerba's newest visitor." The girl spoke in a tone that was soft and childlike yet inexplicably cold, "As diplomatic representative of Paddra and priestess of this temple, I welcome you."

Lightning couldn't find her voice as she was offered the large flower. She took it with little hesitation, with almost fear for what would happen if she didn't. It was the same feeling she got whenever Vanille 'suggested' anything. Only with the priestess, it merely took a look to have others doing exactly what she wanted. There was an unseen but fully-felt force the pinkette couldn't explain, that emanated from her. Whatever it was, it was powerful, commanding... omnipotent even.

"My name is Paddra Nsu-Yeul."

* * *

**A/N :.**

Something about something.  
Totally didn't upload chapter 9 to deviantART and forgot about ff dot net

Ahem...


	12. Fireworks

**.:.:: Chapter 11  
.:.:: Fireworks**

* * *

"You think that went _well_?" Lightning stared at Vanille skeptically.

"Actually, yeah." The orange-haired Oerban replied with a grin, "I mean, considering everyone came out of the meeting alive... And no one had to resort to headbutting..." The way the comment seemed to amuse Vanille only made Lightning even more wary of her. It was technically true though. All parties involved left the negotiations unharmed... more or less. The actual negotiations, however, were another story. Lightning hadn't expected all the conflict and issues to be solved in one meeting but to say the participating parties found little to agree on would be a grossly vast understatement. And it wasn't just between the Gran Pulsians and Palamecians. There had been just as much arguing between the tribal representatives.

_::.:._

"_They're no different than the rest of the viper trash that shows up on Gran Pulse." A Taejin spat with a shake of his head, "Well, other than the fancy armor."_

"_This will be a waste of time."_

"_Oh don't be silly." Vanille responded to the bored Taejin's statement, "They haven't even arrived yet."_

"_This already __**is**__ a waste of time and you all know it!"_

_Lightning rubbed the bridge of her nose. She hadn't spoken a word since the conversation-turned-argument had begun. There was significantly more disagreeing than not—and as Vanille had pointed out, the Palamecians had yet to even join the meeting. She hated to admit it but the Taejin's looked to be right; if the Gran Pulsians were having this hard a time agreeing on anything, it did not look promising for the negotiations with the representatives of Cocoon._

"_Well you certainly aren't helping with that sort of attitude." Vanille commented._

"_Whether or not this meeting is a waste of time or not has yet to be seen." Yeul spoke up, "And regardless of whether or not it is or isn't, it was agreed upon by all parties involved." Her eyes darted to the Taejins who grumbled in return, "Am I mistaken?"_

"_Inviting the most troublesome of vipers into your home. Onto sacred Paddreassean—__sacred_ Gran Pulsian_—_ground..." Virrez stared Yeul down, "...is the only mistake you're making."

"_I would advise you to refrain from addressing the Priestess in that tone, Virrez." An unfamiliar voice pierced through the argument, calling attention to the doorway of the room. Lightning looked to see a figure in the entrance to the room._

_::.:._

Caius Ballad.

Lightning felt herself frown as her thoughts turned to the Priestess' personal guard. At first glance, he reminded Lightning of Fang but the more she had studied him, the more the pinkette realized they were vastly different. She couldn't place what seemed quite so familiar about him.

Caius was a tall man, arguably standing at the height of Virrez, however did not have the Taejin's bulk. This was not to say he wasn't well built. His lean frame was evidence he knew how to handle himself in a fight. And if that did not give it away, the large broadsword on his back could have been taken as a hint.

He wore similar attire to that of the temple guards, however his garments were kept tighter to his frame, and were also accented with light leather armor. Also unlike the temple-guards' vestments—pale and light in color—his consisted of dark purples and blacks. Around his neck hung a scarf of his own, around his head a feathered headband that kept his violet hair from falling completely over his face and similarly colored eyes.

_::.:._

"_Caius Ballad." Virrez addressed the man, his voice dripping with spite. Caius threw a brief look at the Taejin but said nothing._

"_The representative from Cocoon has arrived." He stated curtly, stepping aside. The current occupants of the room watched as another stepped past him into view._

_Crisp uniform, the gentle clicks of metal boots, clasps and armor; clean-cut hair and both a posture and presence that was inexplicably out of place; Lightning didn't need the introduction to know who he was._

"_My name is Alistor Zaidl," The Palamecian bowed formally, "Knight-Commander of the Palamecian Knights of Cocoon."_

_As the Palamecian took his place at the edge of the large table, nearest the door, _

"_I am honored to receive your invitation, Priestess." Alistor stated, "This temple—much like the rest of your city—is extraordinarily impressive." The Knight-Commander added, eyes now on Yeul, "It's a shame it took me this long to take the chance to really be able to appreciate it."_

"_Every inch of Paddra, including this temple—most especially this temple—belongs to the Paddrasean people." Yeul replied with an edge but without hostility, "And I am but a servant of she who watches over them."_

_"Yeul has been blessed by Etro herself." Caius spoke up, both pride and condescension slipping into his tone, "You will do well to remember that, Viper"_

_::.:._

That's what it was; Lightning finally realized why Caius seemed so familiar. Despite seemingly entirely different in look and demeanor, Caius and Virrez shared striking similarities. Both were built for power and had an aura of brutality to them; both wielded weapons made for intimidation just as much as, if not moreso, for actual combat; both did not need the weapons to come off as intimidating as they did. But most of all, they shared the unmistakable, unwavering, utter contempt for anyone from Cocoon.

As opposed to Fang who Lightning realized that while she may not have been quite as outwardly opposed the general population of the floating ark, she held nothing back in voicing her sheer disdain for Palamecians in particular.

_::.:._

"_So is there a reason why you're here and not the usual viper general?" Virrez directed a question at Alistor, "From how much he kept going on about how much influence you Palamecians had with the Primarch, you'd have thought you'd be down here doing his job for him instead of the grunts-"_

"_Virrez." Yeul interjected, "Your tone."_

"_To be quite honest with you, the Primarch—as well as the Palamecians—have little interest in Gran Pulse and are perfectly content with keep our two worlds separate." Alistor explained, unruffled by Virrez's attitude, "We understand the Sanctum's concerns and reasons for their actions on Gran Pulse, but do not necessarily agree them-"_

"_That's a load of chocobo crap." One of the other Taejin's interrupted, "Your kind and your fancy weapons are here just as much as the Sanctum are—it's just when you're done, there aren't any Gran Pulsian's left to report it._

"_That's a rather serious insinuation-"_

"That's _the truth," Fang voiced, speaking for the first time, her gaze still burning into Alistor, "I've had to chase of dozens of your Sanctum soldiers but never had to defend myself against them._

"_We've caught more than a few Gran Pulsians on Cocoon solely there with the intent to cause chaos and disruption—often ending in harm—to either the general public or a specific target." Alistor stated, "If you recall, for instance, our previous Primach-"_

"_If I recall correctly," This time Yeul spoke up, cutting in, "Your Sanctum investigated the incident—quite chaotically, though understandably so considering the circumstance. But they did not find the individual responsible."_

"_Once again, the Sanctum has always been the more… aggressive arm of our government." Alistor's voice took a sharper tone, "I understand your adversity to our people because of their actions but I assure you the Palamecian Knights would not harm anyone on Gran Pulse without provocation."  
_

"_Hah!" Fang scoffed loudly._

"_Fang-" Vanille began to warn softly._

"_What a load of shit!"_

"_Fang-" Again, the Oerban chief attempted to calm fang with a hand now on Fang's arm,_

"_I watched three of you Palamecians—not Sanctum soldiers, Palamecians—tear apart and slaughter an entire tribe-!"_

"_Fang, that's enough!" This time Aquinas spoke—though it was really almost more of a yell—for the first time. Silver eyes were locked on Fang as the Oerban seemed conflicted as to whether or not to protest, "That isn't what we're here to discuss." Lightning noticed Alistor staring hard at the Sulyyan but was unable to read his expression. Aquinas however, seemed adamant not to meet his eyes. Her attention was brought to Fang when the Oerban sighed heavily and threw her hands up in defeat, folding them across her chest to signal she was done with her argument._

_::.:._

Lightning had suspected something as such was the cause of what created the hatred in Fang towards the Palamecian Knights but the brief outburst had confirmed her suspicions. But it was still unclear as to what actually happened. Lightning couldn't deny she was rather surprised that it was Aquinas rather than Vanille that raised her voice to halt Fang's rant—though she had no doubt Vanille would have done the same thing if the Sulyyan hadn't.

The pinkette looked over at the orange-haired Oerban walking—skipping—alongside her as they made their way down the last of the temple steps.

"-And that's how Paddra was made." Vanille's voiced filtered into her ears. Lightning performed a double take as she processed the words yet failed to understand the context.

"…What?" The pinkette had been aware that Vanille had been speaking to her of something but her thoughts had made it difficult for her to concentrate. She hadn't heard a thing the Oerban had said which just made the one statement she did hear, all the more bizarre.

"Are you alright, Lightning?" Vanille asked through giggles but ended with a look of genuine concern, "You haven't been listening to a thing I've been saying." Lightning grimaced slightly at the blunt but extremely accurate statement, "Don't worry about what happened with Fang. Try not to take it too personally." _That_ particular statement caused a misstep and almost-loss-of-footing for the pinkette.

"What makes you think I'm worried about Fang?" Lightning made a face as if biting into a lemon, "I know it isn't my fault she blows a fuse around Palamecians." Another giggle from Vanille wiped her suddenly flash of irritation.

"Now now," Vanille clicked her tongue, "Should you really be the one to talk?" The Oerban raised an eyebrow at the pinkette. Lightning merely clenched her jaw and looked away, knowing Vanille had a point but refused to acknowledge it.

Fang had actually left the meeting out of frustration nearer the end and Vanille had sent Lightning to keep an eye on her. It turned out that Alistor had kept most of his accompanying Knights waiting out in the main hall of the temple. And of course, Fang had managed to start something between herself and the knights. Lightning had barely caught up in time to witness the beginning of a fight that involved more than trading verbal insults. Yet instead of quelling the conflict, Lightning found herself reacting to it uncharacteristically out of control.

Upon the threat of physical harm to Fang by one of the knight's blades, Lightning had felt something snap. The back of her eyes had suddenly begun to burn as the scene before her seemed to blur. As if watching something flickering in and out of focus; only as it did so, it had looked as if melding into a different scene. The alternate scene was far from clear, but it was unmistakable that in both, Fang was in danger of being run through. The torrent of fear and anger that followed proved too much for Lightning—too intense. So much so that it took her over completely.

By the time the temple guards had arrived on the scene to interrupt, followed closely by a few of the other faction representatives, Lightning found herself in front of Fang, at the tips of five different Palamecian Knights' weapons, her bowblade drawn and unfolded, glowing slightly—not unlike the few scorch marks it had left on the ground, on several of the surrounding pillars and on a couple of the knights' physical armor.

Vanille had managed to smooth the situation over with the surprising help from Alistor. Though Lightning was positive it was without the specific intention to help her. What his real intention was, she couldn't have guessed. He was harder to read than Vanille.

_::.:._

"_The Palamecian Knights wield their weapons to protect." Alistor stated, as the group dispersed. Lightning wasn't sure at first, if it was directed at Fang or herself, "It is not our way to abuse them and inflict harm—especially to resolve petty disputes." As his gaze shifted to Lightning, the pinkette became aware that he was, in fact, speaking to Fang, "Your new friend can tell you all about that." He added before turning and walking away. The other knights fell in step behind him._

_Upon turning to Fang, emerald pierced into cerulean. Pain, anger, confusion, disappointment—all were conveyed at once through the Oerban's eyes. Lightning couldn't have begun to try and process what was going through the taller woman's mind. She did however, suddenly feel a swell of something akin to fear sweep up through her, recalling Fang's aversion to Palamecians. Sure she wasn't one anymore but for some reason it didn't matter to her. The stab of guilt through her chest was there all the same._

"_You…?" Fang pointed at Lightning. Though she hadn't seen it in her eyes, the pinkette heard the disbelief in her voice, "You're a Palamecian..?"_

"_I was." Lightning answered eventually, steeling herself through the increasingly intensity of Fang's glare, "Not anymore." The pinkette knew it didn't matter. She wasn't surprised when Fang silently turned and walked away. As Lightning watched her go, a dull weight formed in her chest._

"_Aaah, damn." Aquinas' voice broke the unpleasant silence. The Sulyyan winced as she rubbed the back of her neck, her eyes shifting from the retreating Fang to the all but crestfallen Lightning, "And you were getting along so well." Lightning watched a sad smile cross Aquinas' features before she turned and moved to follow Fang. The pinkette remained puzzled as her gaze shifted to Vanille, who had the same somber—almost apologetic—expression on her face._

_::.:._

"-Not that I'm not grateful you tried to help my best friend." Vanille grinned at the pinkette widely. The two of them had reached the street by now. There were crowds of people flooding the area for the festival. Lightning had initially decided to stay at the temple for the duration of the festival. Crowds really weren't her thing. Vanille, however, had decided otherwise and had found her to bring her down to join in the celebrations.

"What happened to Fang that made her hate Palamecians so much?" Lightning decided to be bold as they began weaving their way through the throngs of people. Again, the same sad, apologetic expression crossed the Oerban chief's face. It was quickly replaced by a mischievous smirk.

"If you tell me why you were on the verge of shooting down five of your former comrades for a Gran Pulsian, I'll tell you about Fang's issues with the Palamecians." The pinkette almost gawked at the Oerban. It were as if Vanille knew Lightning had had some lapse of judgment and/or sanity and actually couldn't explain what had happened. The former Palamecian merely glowered at the smaller woman who just giggled in victory, "Oh, look! There's the Priestess!" Vanille suddenly jumped and motioned to a balcony a few buildings down.

Lightning saw Yeul standing at the edge, the balcony was decorated and underneath the crowd was at its thickest. The pinkette actually groaned as Vanille grabbed one of her wrists and pulled her forward, deeper into the mass of bodies. Within seconds, the smaller woman's hand was knocked away as the celebrating citizens of Paddra swarmed around them. Lightning caught Vanille's eye. The Oerban, already a few yards away, yelled something about meeting her in a direction was pointing in. Groaning again, Lightning made a weak gesture of acknowledgment before pushing her way in the general direction as instructed.

They had celebratory events on Cocoon. She'd seen similar crowds of people but none quite as... vibrant, wild or free. And while it was an interesting contrast to notice, she still maintained her aversion for both types of events. A crowd was a crowd and the type did not change her dislike for them.

As she neared the building with the balcony, something caught her attention. It was only for a split second, out the corner of her eye. Lightning noticed the flicker of a shadow near the side of the building. The spark of suspicion hit her like a kick to the gut, immediately taking her mind of her constrictive surroundings.

Without a moment's hesitation, she began making her way around the side of the crowd. Temple guards surrounded most of the building, with the majority up on the balcony with Yeul, and only five on the ground below. Lightning managed to slip through down a narrow alley that looped around the back. The building was rather long so with as many guards that had been posted on the balcony with Yeul, it wouldn't really have been necessary posting guards all the way around the back. She met little resistance as she continued down the passage.

As she glanced over her shoulder, back in the direction of the street, a snapping of wood and clattering of metal drew her attention back down the alley. Whipping her head around, she saw a figure step out through a low window carrying a large pouch slung over their shoulder. The area was barely lit at all but it was enough for her to recognize the man as a Taejin. As she took a step toward him, he seemed to sense another presence and turned to meet her eyes.

For a long while they merely stared at one another, an awkward silence slowly settling between them. Lightning eventually noticed, the Taejin's arm creeping around the pouch he was carrying; protectively... suspiciously. Before she could make any assumptions, however, the man turned and bolted.

Instincts kicking in, Lightning immediately followed after him. The alley was relatively clear of any obstacles so aside from sidestepping and/or vaulting over the occasional crate or barrel it wasn't difficult to keep up with him. But her target was fast and made it difficult for her to gain much ground on him. Suddenly he seemed to slow, throwing a look over his shoulder at her. She pushed herself harder, preparing to complete her pursuit. Before she could make her move, he suddenly turned, busting through a door to the side of the building and disappearing inside.

Cursing, the pinkette slowed enough to dart through the doorway after him. She was met with a rather large area, but littered with machinery and workbenches. A factory floor? A scuffling to her left caught her attention as she saw the Taejin making his way up the stairs at the back end of the area. She wasted no time moving to pursue—though as she ran towards the stairs, a loud clash of metal from above her caught her attention. Looking up, she barely managed to throw herself out of the way of a chained bag of scrap metal. She hit the ground as it crashed into a workbench she had been running past.

She could have sworn she heard a laugh as she grit her teeth and pushed up off the ground to continue the chase. The stairs led up to a walkway built against the walls, overlooking the factory floor. Eventually the platform led into a closed space that she assumed were offices. She needed to gain more ground if she didn't want to lose sight of him when he reached the end.

Quickly breaking into a sprint back the way she'd come, she jumped up onto a workbench and launched herself at another suspended chain from the ceiling. Using the momentum to swing herself up towards one of the overhead supports—almost level with the platform the Taejin was running on—she continued along it in the direction of the wall. It wasn't enough to cut him off but it more than halved the distance between them. It was the Taejin's turn to curse as he burst through the door into the offices.

Lightning followed quickly after though, refusing to lose sight of him. At this point she noted they were heading back towards the front of the building; back towards the street with crowds of people; back towards temple guards. So what was he doing? She followed the Taejin up a flight of stairs to the floor above and through another set of offices. Lightning acknowledged he didn't have a set of stairs to run up this time but he wasn't slowing down. In fact, it seemed like he was speeding up, running hard and fast at the side of the building—more specifically at a window.

"Oh you have_ got _to be kidding me..." Lightning muttered as she watched the Taejin smash through the window, propelling himself across the alley at the building opposite. As the pinkette drew near she saw him pull himself up and over a small balcony before scrambling onto the railing. At she prepared to make the jump herself, she saw him throw himself back towards her—more accurately back and up, apparently reaching the window above. Launching herself through the window, Lightning made the jump to the opposite balcony with ease and turned just in time to see the Taejin slip in through a balcony on the fourth and top floor.

Refusing to waste time, she followed, jumping off her current balcony railing to grab the bottom of the one above and across. Hauling herself up and over with a grunt, she continued back into the building, into a walled office—the door broken open. She cursed through short breaths, having lost sight of her target. She moved quickly to the doorway, peering out, she saw a long hallway lined with similar doors, presumably leading to similar offices. Down one way she saw the hall end with a large window with a view of the balcony. Despite unable to see anyone from her position, she could hear the crowd from the street. Down the other way, there was the soft cursing of the Taejin, struggling with locked door after door. Their met eyes as Lightning fully stepped out into the hall. The Taejin's curses grew louder as she broke into a run towards him.

As she drew near, he gave up on the door he was currently at and kicked it in. It swung in then bounced back, just as Lightning reached him. He grabbed it and pulled it outward with the intent to use it to 'shield' against his pursuer. The pinkette deflected the blow easily but it stopped her in her tracks and sent her stumbling backwards. She recovered fast but by the time she'd gotten around the door, the Taejin had reached the window inside the office—correction, was already half out of the window.

"Leaving already? You don't want to stay for the party?" She attempted to stall him, "I didn't think you Taejin's could run away so well." It seemed to work as he threw a scowl at her.

"You don't know a damn thing, viper." The spite in his tone almost gave Lightning pause as he pulled himself fully out of the window, "About us... about any of this."

"Then enlighten me." Lightning countered, continuing towards the window, slowly but steadily.

"Oh don't worry, you'll find out sooner or later." The Taejin sneered, "Sooner _rather_ than later." He seemed to correct himself before jumping from his position. Lightning lunged forward toward the window only to see him sliding down a pillar built into the wall. As he hit the ground, she moved to climb out of the window herself.

She was interrupted by a sound out in the hallway. Footsteps? It was a mere moment of distraction but it was enough. The Taejin had reached the street and had already begun to fade into the crowd. Punching the windowsill in frustration as she pulled herself back into the office, once again a sound from out in the hall caught her attention. A guard? Unlikely. They were too close to the festivities out in the street to have heard anything this far into the building.

Steeling herself, the pinkette slowly made her way back to the door, still slightly ajar. Peering through the small opening into the hall she didn't see anything at first. But a shadow from just on the other side of the wall set her reflexes off. She yanked open the door and reached around in an attempt to grab whoever had been standing there. As she did so, she found her own wrist grabbed and her arm jerked forward then around her back as she was pulled into a vice-tight lock.

"What... are you doing here?" She recognized the voice immediately. It halted her initial reaction to struggle against the hold which promptly loosened, freeing her instantly. She whirled around to face her attacker.

"Knight-Commander?" Her confused expression was mirrored in the Palamecian's eyes as she took a step and a half back away from him, "I could ask you the same thing." She continued, cautious.

"The Priestess insisted we stay for the celebrations tonight. I agreed to stay in the capacity of backup for her temple guards." Alistor explained after a brief silence, "I was patrolling the rear of the building and heard a rather interesting set of disturbances inside and decided to investigate." He motioned towards the room she'd just been pulled out of, "And here we are..." He motioned to her, "Your turn."

During the meeting earlier that day, Lightning had been struck by both vexation and relief at the complete lack of acknowledgment the Knight-Commander showed as his eyes caught hers in his survey of the other participants of the meeting. There hadn't been as much as a second glance at her presence in the biggest city on Gran Pulse, let alone at a gather held at its most prominent landmark. Perhaps he deemed it inappropriate to act on recognition; or possibly assumed the Gran Pulsians were not aware of her origin and did not want to risk an incident; or perhaps he simply did not care. Whatever it was, Lightning was sure it had nothing to do with forgetting. It was not the Knight-Commander's place his knights—exiled or not.

"I don't take orders from you anymore, remember?" Light responded, with a little more edge than she intended. Alistor was unfazed as he continued to push for an explaination.

"No, but you've broken into a locked building, are skulking around in the dark which—to anyone else—would have been even more suspicious considering your association with Cocoon-"

"I didn't break into anything." Lightning muttered defensively, "You want suspicious? Try the Taejin _'skulking'_ about around the side of the building, that bolts away the moment he notices someone's seen him." Alistor threw a quick glance back into the room she'd just been before returning his gaze to her. Lightning wasn't sure how to feel. He showed neither agreement nor disbelief in his expression.

"And what exactly would you have once you caught this Taejin?" It was a fair question; one that Lightning actually hadn't thought about during the chase. She blinked a couple of times before clearing her throat.

"I don't know, my instincts told me to pursue; look at this for example," She motioned between them, "Same principle."

"Only you didn't get away." Lightning scowled at the comment. It irked her even more that it didn't even seem like it was meant to be a snip at her.

"Other than chasing a rat, I have no business here." She sighed, "I have no other explanation therefore I have no reason to lie to you." A few moments of silence passed as the two of them stared each other down. Eventually, Alistor seemed to at least acknowledge her statements.

"And what business exactly, would a Taejin have in an closed factory?"

"I don't know, he didn't exactly seem to be in the mood to talk." The pinkette muttered, "All he had was a pouch…" She trailed off as she replayed the last few moments she saw him, "...on his... back." As he disappeared from view out the window and as she watched him disappear into the crowd, he was fairly certain the large pouch he'd had when she first noticed him was gone. She frowned, replaying the scene over and over. Yes, it had been gone. He'd dropped it? Unlikely, it'd been securely slung over a shoulder.

"-t is it?" Alistor was staring at her increased interest. Lightning met his eyes briefly but quickly began scanning the area around them.

"The pouch… the pouch he was carrying was gone after he jumped from the window." She murmured, stepping further down the hall, still searching. It had to have been on this floor. She remembered it still on him as he jumped out the window of the floor below.

"Pouch? What pouch?" Alistor's questions fell on half-deaf ears as Lightning continued looking for the discarded item. Why would he have gotten rid of it though? A delivery? To who? And why in the middle of a closed, dark building? The only other people in the building that night were…

"The Priestess." Lightning whispered, eyes widening at the realization.

"The Priestess? What about her?" Alistor questioned again only to once more be ignored. Lightning eyes darted from the floor near her feet to the other end of the hall. The sound of the commotion outside finally faded back into her hearing. Framed perfectly by the window, Yeul stood just outside it, addressing someone to her side—out of view. As the pinkette's gaze drifted downward, nearer to the ground, she saw it. The discarded pouch had been tossed—no doubt roughly, but with purpose and accuracy—to land against one wall barely a foot from the window. Her jaw tightened.

Eyes darting back up to the priestess, her breath caught in her throat when she found Yeul staring directly at her, impossibly so for the distance and darkness should have blocked Lightning from her vision. Yet, the pinkette knew Yeul was looking directly and specifically at her.

Lightning managed to swallow the lump in her throat; managed to make one last glance down at the pouch on the ground; managed to take the first step to sprint for it, before there was a flash that blinded her and the explosion that followed sent her flying off her feet.

* * *

**A/N:.**

So since Chapter 11 and 12 were being stupid and didn't want to be longer than 2k words, I decided to slap them together.  
This is the result. Or something.

In my head, Lightning has mad parkour skillz.


	13. Knockback I

**.:.:: Chapter 12  
.:.:: Knockback I**

* * *

"Move!" A frantic Paddrasean scowled at Fang as she pushed past him to get nearer the destruction. A plume of smoke and dust filled the air above and the street around it, accompanied by cries of shock, confusion and anger. Temple guards were already taking measures to clear the area. As she yanked a panicked Paddrasean out of the way of a falling piece of rubble, she cursed—not sure whether or not the fact most of the architecture in Paddra was stone was a blessing or a curse. Even if there were a blazing fire, it'd be easier to see through the thick smog hindering her vision.

She had to find Vanille. She'd still been irked about the incident with Lightning earlier in the afternoon, and with the Palamecians in general so she'd avoided the pinkette since. Much to her chagrin, Vanille—having had to smooth the situation over with the other party involved—had stuck with the pinkette for the remainder of the afternoon. And of course that meant she got the company of certain similarly irksome and equally nosy Sulyyan.

"Aqui…" She muttered. She'd have to look for the brat as well. Both Vanille and Aquinas were skilled in healing—though they used different techniques—but it would be much more complicated if Aquinas had been injured.

As she made her way deeper into the cloud of dirt, dust and smoke, the number of panicked Paddraseans grew less. Most had probably scrambled away from the destruction by now. She heard the occasional shout from temple guards searching for the priestess and saw their silhouettes dart in and out of her line of sight. Eventually she reached the building that the blast had originated from—at least, what was left of it. There was a rather massive hole where the balcony at the top floor had been. The front right corner had collapsed in on itself.

She struggled to maintain control of the rising panic she felt as she scanned the rubble. A few of the temple guards were sifting through a pile. A pair near the center of the building was helping another out from under some rocks. She winced when she saw he did not look in a good way. She took a few steps to help when she heard her name.

"Fang?" She immediately recognized it as Aquinas'. She looked to see the Sulyyan, unharmed sans a few scrapes and bruises. Meeting the smaller girl's shimmering silver eyes, Fang confirmed Aquinas hadn't needed to heal anything more major, "I guess asking what the hell just happened is probably a stupid question." The Sulyyan muttered, rubbing her head, also looking around through the cloud that surrounded them, "Vanille?"

"I don't know." Fang immediately continued in and around the broken remains of the front of the building, "Did you see her before the explosion."

"For a second," Came Aquinas' reply, "I think she was with Lightning."

The pink-haired woman's name caused Fang's jaw to tighten reflexively. But she had to concentrate, this wasn't a time to be dancing around in circles concerning the Palamecian—former Palamecian. As if that mattered. She sighed in renewed frustration.

"Well, the Paddraseans sure know how to throw a party." She heard Aquinas add quickly. For as nosy as the Sulyyan was, her awareness was admirable. She'd noticed the Oerban's reaction to the mention of the pinkette and was most likely attempting to change the subject.

"Well they did have some interesting guests." Fang responded in a low voice as she noticed a group of guards surrounding a particularly large pile of rubble. As she and Aquinas drew near the conversation filled their ears and Fang noticed most of the temple guards had their weapons in their hands.

"Get him up." Fang's eye twitched when she saw two of the guards pick up the Palamecian Knight Commander. His hair was slightly tousled but apart from the occasional tear and scratch, his armor and underlying attire were unscathed—impossibly so considering where she assumed he'd been found. She looked upward. He'd been nearer the center of the building, farther back than where the explosion looked to have been set off. Still, it was highly suspicious.

"Over here!" A piercing yell from the collapsed corner drew all their attentions. A few of the guards head in the direction of the call while the remainder stayed with the Palamecian. Fang's attention was too focused on the Knight Commander she didn't move to follow until she felt Aquinas do so. The two of them eventually saw the guards helping Caius out from under a collapsed pillar. The entire left side of his armor had been destroyed and blood trickled down the side of his head. It wasn't until Fang got close enough to see what he was holding that she understood the sudden panic that swept through the guards that had reached him.

In Caius' arms, he held Yeul. A lot of her small body was covered in cuts and caked in dirt. What was left of her clothes were stained with what was most likely blood. Her left side and arm, hanging down in view, looked severely burned. It confirmed Fang's suspicions that the explosive had been planted as close to the priestess as possible—meaning she had been a target of a deliberately-placed bomb.

"Aquinas!" Caius' voice snapped Fang back. The Priestess' personal guard had his eyes on the Sulyyan. The Oerban looked between the two as they began moving toward each other. It took a second to realize what was going on.

"Aqui, you can't!" She moved to grab the Sulyyan. Aquinas glanced down at Fang's hand around her arm before looking onto the Oerban's eyes, "They can get the priestess to the temple and she can be taken care of there."

"Aquinas, the priestess needs you!" Caius barked, earning a sideways glare from Fang. Aquinas gently but firmly pulled away from Fang's grip.

"She won't last long enough for them to get her to the temple if I don't do something." The Sulyyan assured, "It's not a big deal. Find Vanille and Lightning." She gave Fang that annoying smirk before turning and jogging towards Caius, meeting him half-way as he collapsed, still holding Yeul tightly. Fang felt her jaw clench disapprovingly but did not make any move to protest further. She didn't know what irked her more. The fact Aquinas was putting her own well-being on the line for the Priestess or that she'd insisted Fang find both Vanille and Lightning. Of all the people for Aquinas to be concerned about… Of course she understood Vanille-

"He was where?" She heard Caius exclaim. He had lay Yeul down on the ground so Aquinas could take a closer look at her injuries. Presently a temple guard was talking to him, most likely about the Knight Commander they'd found within the initial blast radius of the explosion. Caius stood, ignoring his own injuring and began making his way toward the other group of guards, instructing the ones around Yeul and Aquinas to stay and keep watch. Fang wasn't sure whether to follow Caius or stay with the other two.

It ended up being neither as movement from further into the destroyed building caught her attention. Taking one last glance at Aquinas, the Oerban began making her way carefully through the debris into the remains of the structure. Her caution to avoid setting off any more 'cave-ins' was immediately forgotten when she saw a flash of pink and orange.

"Vanille?" She yelled, speeding up her traverse through collapsed beams and piles of rubble. She rounded chunk of fallen ceiling to find the smaller Oerban limping and leaning against Lightning. She swallowed thickly when she saw the blood running down her leg, hastily bandaged by what looked like a torn piece of drapery, "Vanille!" She ran up to them as they stopped to rest against a large set of stones. Immediately moving to check the wound, she forced herself to ignore the pinkette for the moment—harder that she'd have thought.

"I'm alright Fang."

"What the hell happened here?" The question came out more confrontational than she'd planned. What was worse was that she inadvertently threw a glance over at Lightning, who didn't let it slip.

"What the hell makes you think I'd know?" Came the equally defensive response. Fang gently pulled down part of the makeshift bandage around Vanille's cut to get a better look but was distracted by the pinkette, despite herself. She looked over at Lightning.

"You're in the middle of this mess with barely any injuries at all…"

"Alright, let's not start-"

"Look who's talking!" Lightning motioned to the Oerban, a glare in her eyes and frown on her lips.

"I was about half a block away from the explosion! I ran here looking for Vanille-!" Fang snapped back, her attention fully distracted from what she'd been to focus on.

"Okay, enough already!" Vanille interrupted abruptly, glaring at them both, "We're in the middle of a collapsing building and you two are acting like five-year-olds again!" The two taller women remained silent. The smaller Oerban pulled Fang's face to look at her, "I'm glad you're alright Fang, I was thrown by the blast but other than being trapped by a part of a fallen pillar I wasn't hurt very bad." She motioned to her leg, "I got the cut as I was trying to climb out, after the explosion." She looked over at the pinkette, "Lightning saw me from one of the upper floors and climbed down—risking injuring herself—to help me."

"And why was she even on the upper floors?" Fang muttered, allowing a glance at the pinkette. She saw Lightning open her mouth to reply but was cut off by Vanille.

"Perhaps she was thrown by the blast, it doesn't matter." The small Oerban caught Fang's eyes again, "What matters is that we're all alright, and need to move to get out of this death trap to stay that way." Fang let out an exasperated sigh before nodding and swiftly picking Vanille up off her place on the set of rocks. The smaller Oerban yelped but did not struggle as the taller woman began to carry her back through the rubble from where she'd entered. She felt Vanille peer over her shoulder and motion for the pinkette to follow, and the sound of shuffling from behind her told her that Lightning was doing so.

As part of the building had collapsed in, blocking the exact path Fang had taken, they'd diverted through to climb clear of the structure, ending up coming out a different section. As they did so, they were met with the group of guards, now with the addition of Caius, surrounding the Knight Commander.

"I assure you, the restraints aren't necessary." The Palamecian's voice was calm but cold as two of the temple guards locked a set of bindings around his wrists.

"You refuse to directly answer my questions, what's to say you refuse to follow us back to the temple where we will further investigate your presence here."

"I have already told you I have no qualms about travelling with you back to your temple-"

"Enough, take him." Caius barked. The two guards on either side of the detainee pulled him forward, leading him away from the scene. Any Palamecian would have known the Knight Commander was completely serious. Unfortunately, this wasn't Cocoon and he wasn't in the company of fellow Palamecians. To the Gran Pulsians, his attitude probably came off as pretentious, patronizing even.

Fang immediately looked over at Lightning, who had an expression on her face she couldn't quite read. Did she really not know anything? She did not look happy about her ex-superior being taken into custody, yet hadn't made any real move to stop it. Observing closer, it actually almost looked as if she were resisting the urge to.

"Fang." Caius apparently had noticed the three of them. Only briefly holding Fang's gaze, his own quickly turned to Lightning. Even through the dust that was still settling in the area, suspicion could be seen clearly in his eyes, "I'll need you to take your chief and your… guest back to the temple." He directed, "I need to know exactly what happened here."

"The Priestess?" Vanille quickly spoke up, genuine concern evident in her voice, "Yeul, is she alright?"

"She will be. Aquinas is with her now."

"Aquinas…" There was a questioning tone in the small Oerban's repetition of the Sulyyan's name.

"She's stabilizing the priestess so they can move her to the temple without risking further injury." Fang explained, wincing at the expression that crossed Vanille's face as the woman in her arms turned to her, "The priestess didn't look good. They wouldn't have been able to move her if Aquinas hadn't-"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Vanille didn't wait for Fang to finish, struggling for the first time since she'd been picked up. She half climbed half fell out of Fang's hold, "Where is she?" She asked, looking between Fang and Caius. The Paddrasean guard motioned in the direction from where Fang had entered the building. As Vanille took a wobbly step in that direction, Fang had to grab and help keep her from stumbling over.

"You need medical attention yourself," Caius stated, "Get to the temple—with your guest-" He emphasized more than added, "-I will follow shortly, once Aquinas has stabilized the priestess."

"She isn't your personal first aid kit." Vanille snapped, taking Lightning off guard. The pinkette was twice as shocked when she saw the glare the smaller Oerban was sporting. Before long it was gone though, as Vanille sighed heavily, "Take me to Aquinas, Fang will take Lightning to the temple." She said quickly, not allowing Caius to argue. Fang didn't either, as she reluctantly allowed the annoyed but co-operative Paddrasean to take Vanille's arm to support her. The taller Oerban knew neither she nor Caius would have won an argument with Vanille, especially now, and especially with Aquinas involved. She was the only person more protective of the Sulyyan than she was.

As she watched the two make their way to the group nearer the building, she turned and caught Lightning standing slightly bewildered. She had little doubt the pinkette disliked the idea of them spending any period of time in just one another's company just as much as she did. But it couldn't be helped and though she never enjoyed making the comparison, Vanille was her chief as well as her friend. If she said to take Lightning to the temple, she'd take the damn woman to the temple.

"Well, do I gotta knock you out over the head and drag you, or you gonna make it simple." Fang motioned down the road in the direction of the large, towering mountain structure. Lightning seemed to snap out of whatever haze she was in.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be walking into another situation where a group of people accuse me of something I had nothing to do with..." She pinched the bridge of her nose, "First the Palamecians, now the Gran Pulsians…" She muttered. Fang's brow furrowed at the last comment. The Palamecians? What? She shook her head, they didn't have time for this. The soon she got Lightning to the temple, the soon this mess could be dealt with.

"You can mumble and walk, Sunshine." She muttered, reaching for the pinkette's shoulder to at least turn her and nudge her in the direction of the temple. As soon as her hand made contact however, it was slapped away. The sudden reaction shocked her more than it hurt. She stood stunned for a moment as she found cerulean blue piercing into her.

"Don't-!" As soon as she saw it, the glare disappeared and shock was mirrored back to her. They stood in silence for a moment before Lightning turned and began walking. Fang blinked a couple of times, once again left in confusion. What the hell was that? Fang could have chalked it up to merely seeing things but she could have sworn she saw a strange sort of fear in the pinkette's eyes, hidden under the glare. Sure they hadn't gotten along well, but Lightning never showed any signs of fearing Fang—even when they'd rush head-on into a fight.

"Bloody Vipers..." Fang muttered under her breath before continuing after the pinkette.

Caius hadn't been exaggerating when he said he'd follow them shortly. In less than an hour after the two had arrived at the temple, he'd assured Yeul, Vanille and Aquinas had been taken to the healing chambers. Barely patching himself up, he immediately arranged for the other Palamecian Knights to be rounded up and held under surveillance while their Knight Commander was questioned. Many of the temple guards were either posted with the priestess or were patrolling the outside of the temple. So Fang was needed to remain with Lightning in holding for questioning after the Knight Commander.

Both she and Lightning had remained silent since the street. She was assigned to watch her but Fang continued to make it a point to avoiding looking anywhere near the pinkette. She'd have gnawed off her right arm to be able to have been at Vanille's side instead. Lightning was equally as perturbed. Every minute longer she spent around Fang, the more general discomfort she felt. She still didn't know why and she still didn't like it.

When the Knight Commander was finally escorted out of the room used for questioning, the pinkette was almost relieved. Caius handed off the Palamecian to another pair of guards, instructing them to take him to where the part of the temple assigned to the knights during their stay. He then motioned for Lightning, who grumbled but stepped into the room. Even from her position leaning against the wall opposite where the pinkette had been waiting, Fang didn't miss the glance she shared with the Knight Commander. She couldn't have guessed what but there was little doubt in her mind now the two of them shared something—whether it be about this incident of something before. She felt her lips form a frown. It bothered her. And when something bothered her, she made sure she dealt with it.

"Lightning mentioned how she was accused of something like this on Cocoon." She spoke up, halting the Knight Commander. The guards on either side of him exchanged glances but did not force him to continue. Instead they turned to Fang, "What did she mean?" The Oerban asked.

"And what makes you think I'd know anything about that?" Came the response. Fang's jaw tightened. The Palamecian hadn't even bothered to turn and look at her while he spoke. Her temper flared. She walked over and stepped in front of him, looking him directly in her ashen eyes.

"Don't play stupid with me Viper." She warned, "What could Lightning have done that she was sent down here from your nest in the sky?" If she weren't so on edge, Fang would've picked up on how defensive she sounded about the pinkette.

"Perhaps you should ask her."

"Maybe you should answer the damn question." The Oerban retorted lowly.

"Fang-" One of the temple guards spoke up, in more of a worried tone than threatening. Fang held up a hand to silence them.

"Your priestess isn't the only one who got hurt during this mess." She stated, eyes not leaving the Knight Commander, "I deserve just as much as Caius to find out what in the hell happened." Though they had their orders, Fang had a point, and—though from a different tribe—held the same position and responsibility to Oerba's leader as Caius did to Yeul. They both sighed but stepped away to let her continue her chain of inquiry.

"To dump one of your own in the wilds of Gran Pulse." She folded her arms and gave a shake of her head, "Doesn't seem like something you Vipers would do, sounds more like a Taejin thing…" She mumbled.

"It was a necessary course of action." Another dismayed scoff from the Oerban.

"Necessary?" Fang growled, "The state I found her in left no doubt she was put here without the means to defend herself." She was still too annoyed to realize her line of questioning was more about Lightning's well-being and less about the more recent situation at hand, "Necessary... According to who?"

"To me." Came the reply from the Knight Commander, "I arranged for her exile." His expression remained unchanged as Fang all but gaped at him, "The alternative was death."

"You make it sound as if there would've been a difference." The Oerban muttered.

"Not many would argue with you." The Palamecian replied quickly, "But I still do not believe Lightning was responsible for what she was accused of." The Knight Commander elaborated, "Therefore I changed her sentence of death to that of exile."

"And I don't suppose if was her natural charm and beauty that made you change your mind?" Fang joked.

"She is the closest example of the perfect Palamecian Knight." There was brief moment of hesitation before the Knight Commander responded, "She carries herself with honor—both in and out of battle; she stands for what she believes in and does it with a natural grace and elegance." Fang raised an eyebrow at the off-worlder, stared at him for a moment before rolling her eyes.

"Why am I not surprised she'd be the Knight Commander's pet?" The Palamecian in question did not respond to the comment. He merely continued.

"It is for those reasons why it is highly unlikely she would have done what she was accused of."

"Which was... what?" Fang questioned, "Break a window in one of your fancy buildings? Being late for morning training? Forgetting to properly buckle-up her uniform-?"

"An assassination attempt on our Primarch." The Knight Commander's statement caused Fang to bite her tongue—literally—as she processed it. At first the thought that he'd been joking crossed her mind and that now, her own suggestions seemed a little more likely. But logic kicked in and she had little doubt the Palamecian was not the type to make jokes—particularly concerning the leader of their people; more specifically their assassination.

"Fang, we really should be taking him back…" One of the temple guards spoke up eventually. As much as she wanted more information, the Oerban found herself nodding as the two of them led the Knight Commander away.

Fang was left with her thoughts, what she could make of them anyway. Sure she didn't know the pinkette very well… very much at all actually… but she didn't get the impression that Lightning was the assassinating type. She would deny it of course but she had the impression she and Lightning were similar in the fact that they much preferred a head-on approach to a fair fight. She wouldn't deny the pinkette could stand to be a little less uptight, and if she'd known her as a fellow soldier or warrior, she would have probably suggested she rebel a little more. But to assassinate the Primarch? She wasn't a fan of any Viper by a long shot but to murder in cold blood?

The more she thought about it, the more doubt began to filter through. True, Lightning came off as the good soldier, obeyed her superiors, and followed their orders. But the longer Fang was around her, the closer she observed the pinkette, the more she started to see that it wasn't quite the full picture. There was something… missing from the pinkette. There was an emptiness in her that could only be seen through her cerulean eyes—and only then if one looked hard enough. It was as if she'd lost something a long time ago and whatever it was left her changed—for the worse.

Fang recalled every glance—every glare—the two of them shared. Of course the pinkette's eyes had been cold and steely as they bickered but thinking about it harder, there was something else; something that gave her glare an extra edge. Something stronger than irritation or anger Lightning may have been feeling in that moment. Something deeper, rooted and tied to whatever it was that was missing. If there was one thing Fang _was_ sure of, it was that such beautiful eyes—Lightning's eyes—were not meant to show such emptiness.

* * *

**A/N:.**

This chapter was getting on 7k words so I chopped it in half.


	14. Knockback II

**.:.:: Chapter 13  
.:.:: Knockback II**

* * *

Behind the closed door, the cerulean-eyed pinkette shifted in her seat across from Caius. They'd been courteous enough to refrain from binding her wrists like she'd seen them do with Alistor. It was gesture enough to keep her compliant for now. Caius had been having a hushed conversation with another guard the first minute or so she'd been in the room. Eventually the guard left—mostly likely to carry a brief report of what Caius had gotten out of Alistor. She frowned as she recalled the brief discussion they'd had after the initial explosion.

_.::.:_

_Lightning coughed as she breathed in the mixture of dirt and dust. She blinked through the haze to see the floor collapsing around her. A block of stone would have crushed her as it fell from above if it hadn't split and rolled off the shimmering gold protective field around her. Blinking as she sat up, she finally noticed Alistor crouched next to her, his voice finally reaching her ears._

"_We have to move, I can't shield us from the entire building collapsing on us." With that she felt him pull her to her feet. Rubble and debris continued falling around them but for the most part, the field the Palamecian had created kept them unharmed. A misstep caused the pinkette to lose her footing. A strong arm grabbed her to keep her steady. Her immediate reaction was to pull away but that only made her more unbalanced. She reached out to grab a toppled shelf to compensate but let out a sudden cry as a sharp pain shot through her wrist and up her arm. She fell. Hard. More dust and dirt filled her lungs._

"_You were closer than I was to the explosion." Alistor's voice somehow registered in her ears over her coughs and gasps for clear air, "I did what I could to shield us but you too close and were thrown too fast." He moved to help her up again. Despite her grunt of disapproval, she allowed him to pull her by her good arm, up to her feet, "Your hand got pinned by a rather large chunk of debris from the blast, just as you hit the wall you were thrown into."_

_For the first time since she'd regained her senses—somewhat—Lightning looked down at her right arm and wrist. The arm sleeve that covered it was torn halfway down leaving a clear view. For the most part it looked normal apart from some swelling. However, the moment she tried to move it she was met with another sharp pain that told her it was far from fine. It was dislocated at least—and the chance of there being a fracture or two was pretty high, if Alistor's recollection of events was accurate._

"_We can deal with your wrist as soon as we get clear of the building." The Knight Commander seemed to hear her thoughts as he half carried her through the collapsing structure. The rest of the way out was relatively less life-threatening. They'd reached the ground floor of a side of the building where the walls and floors were still stable. Alistor released his hold on Lightning's arm as she took a seat on a workbench. She took deep breaths, her lungs eager for clean air._

"_That explosive-" She began eventually but was cut off._

"_There's no doubt this will lead to an investigation with the Palamecians as lead suspects." Alistor cut to the chase, "There's a high chance you'll be questioned as well." He watched as the pinkette slipped the arm sleeve off her good arm and began wrapping it around her swollen wrist, "If you are, I need you to refrain from mentioning the Taejin you saw." _

"_What?" Lightning's head snapped up to look at him, "The Taejin was carrying that explosive! He planted it there with the intention of harming the priestess-"_

"_According to you and you alone-"_

"_I know what I saw!" Lightning argued, "You must have seen it to-!"_

"_Regardless of who is responsible, this is going to cause a political maelstrom." Alistor's voice grew firm and held an edge that kept Lightning from further interrupting, "Throwing such accusations will only make it worse between Gran Pulse and Cocoon. We cannot afford that right now." The pinkette's jaw tightened in frustration, partially because the Palamecian still seemed to refuse what she'd seen was true but mostly because regardless, he was right. Pointing fingers would only insinuate more guilt and the Palamecian visitors didn't need any more reason to incite hostility from their Gran Pulsian hosts._

"_Where are you going?" Lightning asked, noticing the Knight Commander turning and heading back the way they'd come._

"_I'm going to see if I can discover anything more about the explosive."_

"_The building is collapsing-!" Lightning began again but stopped when she saw the shimmer of the CrystoGen forcefield he'd created around himself. She almost laughed. Had it really been long enough for her to have forgotten about the power the Palamecians had—she once had?_

"_Try to get yourself around the front of the building where the crowd was. It'd be easier to explain your injured wrist without having to explain your proximity to the explosion." Alistor instructed—ordered almost—over his shoulder before disappearing into the destroyed building._

_Lightning cursed under her breath as she finished wrapping the arm sleeve around her wrist. She'd managed to wrap it so it looked like an armband as opposed to the makeshift brace she'd intended it to be. Taking another few long breaths, she thought about what Alistor had suggested. Yes, it made sense and technically, refraining from mentioning something wasn't exactly lying but it still didn't sit right with her. She wasn't sure if it was because of her pride as a Palamecian or her sense of justice in general that the thought of Cocoon taking the blame for something like this angered her._

_She shook her head and sighed, pushing off the workbench she'd been leaning against. She'd deal with whatever happened when it came. For now she needed to get around to the front of the building. Slowly, she exited through a side door and made her way towards the clouded street. The chaos grew louder as she rounded the collapsed corner. She squinted through the haze in the street. It was just as hard to see as it was while she was inside with Alistor. Before she could proceed anything further, somehow—through the shouts of Gran Pulsians and crumbling of stone—she heard a frantic voice. Someone calling for help? She listened harder. It sounded like…_

"_Vanille?"_

_::.:._

"-onvenient for you to suddenly appear on Gran Pulse just before we're set to have a meeting with your Knight Commander."

"He's not my Knight Commander." Lightning responded quickly, "Not anymore."

"Yes, he mentioned as such but refused to elaborate." Caius continued eying her suspiciously from the opposite side of the table, "He suggested I instead ask you." Lightning resisted the urge to click her tongue. Of course Alistor insisted that she keep quiet about the one thing that would be useful yet had no qualms about revealing something that had little to do with the current situation. Was he trying to make this easier or harder for her?

"We had a… difference in opinion." Lightning put forward, anticipating the quirked eyebrow she received in response.

"Must have been one hell of a difference of opinion for them to have sent you all the way down here." Caius began pacing, his eyes not leaving the pinkette, "Care to elaborate."

"No, actually-" Lightning responded, meeting his gaze with equal intensity, "-because it has nothing to do with the explosion." She added in anticipation of what he'd say next, "And, to put it simply, it's none of your business." The Paddrasean made a noise somewhat akin to a growl before pointing a finger at her in warning.

"You forget where you are, Viper." He spat, his voice turning cold, "Not once has there been a single death threat against the priestess yet the moment she invites you into our home she's injured within an inch of her life? If you're telling me I'm to believe-"

"I'm not telling you to believe anything." Lightning snapped, her anger threatening to get the best of her, "Because it's obvious you've already made up your mind." It didn't help that her entire arm was now aching—slow, steady pulses of pain echoed through it, "All I am telling you is the truth. Whether or not you're too short-sighted or narrow-minded to listen and believe me is your issue, not mine." She stared hard into his violet eyes, "So either charge me with the attempt on your priestess' life—evidence would be nice but it'd be your word against mine and considering where we are I doubt that'd be a problem for you." She shrugged, "Or, you could stop dancing circles around me and focus on something that isn't tinted with your hatred of those from Cocoon."

Caius did not interrupt her, and he didn't immediately respond to her once she'd finished either. However there was a hard look that appeared in his eyes that told Lightning she had begun to play with fire. But she didn't care. At this point she was too tired, too stressed, too distracted from the pain in her arm-

"She has a point, you know." The soft voice from the doorway was jarring as the two of them turned and was greeted with a smile, "Albeit a rather... blunt way of putting it."

"Vanille…" Caius barely managed to get the name out. He looked past her out the doorway where a set of temple guards were looking back, nervously. Lightning couldn't deny she was curious as to what Vanille could have said to get past them into the room. Caius opened his mouth to speak again but Vanille didn't give him the chance.

"So sorry to interrupt Caius but as Lightning is Oerba's responsibility, I think we should be taking the necessary action of investigating her whereabouts during the explosion." She walked over to the table, limping slightly but without much trouble, "It's understandable the Paddraseans have more than enough to worry about, and as fellow Gran Pulsians, we shall take the responsibility for handling this particular case." The orange-haired woman put a hand on Lightning's shoulder. The pinkette flinched but made no further attempt to remove it.

"That is… admirable of you, Vanille, but-"

"But of course! I can't possibly ask you to take away from your responsibilities to deal with the Oerbans'." She tapped Lightning on the shoulder. The pinkette glanced between the two Gran Pulsians. Caius' expression had lost most traces of his anger and Vanille was merely smiling at the man. The pinkette's eyebrow arched, "Now, we won't waste any more of your time." She tapped Lightning's shoulder again. This time, she moved. She stood, slowly with glance over at Caius.

"I haven't finished-"

"Your temple guards have regrouped already?"

"…Not quite-"

"The Paddrasean casualties have all been taken care of?"

"…We're getting them medical attention as fast as we can-"

"And the building? Has it been cleared?"

"Not… fully…" Lightning's eyes narrowed on the Oerban bombarding the man with questions. There was genuine concern in her voice but little doubt in the pinkette's mind that the sudden string of questions wasn't entirely as it seemed.

"Then I refuse to delay or distract you from your priorities." She stepped aside to let Lightning pass her, through the doorway, past the two temple guards who were still too bewildered at the situation to make a move to stop her.

"Vanille, you can't just ta-"

"I'll take it from here, Caius." The Oerban assured, her smile broadening but her voice turning somewhat cold. Lightning had already stepped out of the room but she felt a sudden chill shoot up her spine as Vanille made her intent to pull Lightning from the interrogation final. At the last second, Lightning turned to steal one last glance at the Paddrasean. Was he really going to just let her-

"Fine." Her eyebrow quirked once more. Guess he really was… "But I will get to the bottom of this."

"I have no doubt you will." Vanille gave a wave before stepping out of the room herself, pushing Lightning further into and down the hall.

Recovering quickly from yet another display of the Oerban chief's mind-bending ability, the pinkette had already begun to brace herself, expecting to see Fang waiting for them. She was surprised to find the hallway empty. She turned to Vanille who was giving a similar wave to the two temple guards before they were called into the room by Caius. Lightning almost felt sorry for them.

"I told Fang to check up on Aqui." Vanille stated, still smiling. Again, Lightning wasn't sure if the smaller woman was intentionally bringing up the other Oerban around her. She decided she wouldn't put it past her.

"Is she alright?" Lightning asked, recalling the exchange between Vanille and Caius earlier, regarding the Sulyyan. She was curious as to why Aquinas helping heal a fellow Gran Pulsian seemed like such a bad thing—a dangerous thing.

"She'll be fine. Yeul's a little fragile, but she responds to healing well—particularly Aqui's." Vanille's eyes glanced down at the ground and the smile on her face faltered ever so slightly. Lightning's own lips twitched into a frown. What was so special about Aquinas' healing? She never actually seen the Sulyyan heal. She'd seen her assist Vanille while they were tending to her own wounds but it was the Oerban who'd been doing a lot of the healing. In fact, looking back, she remember more times Vanille actually refused to let Aquinas heal, instead taking it upon herself to do so.

Before the pinkette could inquire any more on the topic, something caught her eye. More specifically someone—a group of people. Taejins were making their way down the hall that ran perpendicular, at the end of the hall she and Vanille were standing in. Her entire body tensed up when at the last second, she recognized the face of the one she'd seen before the explosion.

"I need to... go for a walk..." The pinkette mumbled hurriedly before starting off after them. She vaguely registered the slightly confused acknowledgement from Vanille and judged that the Oerban had not followed her. She have to find some way to apologize for the brush-off later. She continued to tail the Taejins closely, but not quite enough to hear their conversation clearly. She followed them down at least three more hallways before they seemed to slow to a stop. Crouching behind the nearest corner, the pinkette finally was in range of their discussion.

"This is wasting our time. Work on the tower is nearly complete."

"We're getting nowhere through the... negotiations... and the Paddraseans are now running around like headless chickens."

"To think the Vipers would be ballsy enough to pull something like this."

"You think so?"

"Oh believe me, if anything's found in that mess of a building, it'll point to the damn Vipers."

Lightning's brow furrowed. From the brief glimpse she'd had of the explosive before it went off, she knew she'd seem something similar to it before—on Cocoon. But what was a Taejin doing with such a device-?

"What're you doi-?" The sudden voice from above and behind her caused Lightning to jump. She winced when she felt the top of her head connect with something hard, cutting off the rest of the question. Instead there was a loud yelp and groan as she turned to find Aquinas clutching her jaw, eyes squeezed shut in pain. Before Lightning could apologize she heard the Taejins down the hall stop murmuring to speak normally.

"You hear something?"

"Huh?"

"Down there."

"Oh come on, you're getting paranoid-"

"No, I swear, I heard something…"

Reacting in an almost-panic, Lightning more or less tackled Aquinas further around the corner before dragging her towards the nearest place for viable, additional cover. She'd barely pulled the Sulyyan around the set of planters further down the hallway before she heard the Taejins round the corner where they'd just been. Keeping one eye on them, watching to see if they were going to continue down the hall or not, she cast a side-ways glance at Aquinas, who was still rubbing her jaw.

_'What are you doing?' _She mouthed at the smaller girl who gave her a raised eyebrow before motioning to herself.

_'Me?'_ Aquinas mouthed back, _'What are** you** doing?'_ She then motioned to Lightning,_ 'Do you get off on headbutting people?'_ Her had went back to her chin, _'I kinda feel for Fang…' _Lightning rolled her eyes.

_'**YOU** shouldn't sneak around people!'_

_'Seriously?'_ Aquinas raised an eyebrow at her, _'Says the one hiding behind a corner eavesdropping on the Taejins…'_ Lightning frowned, her eyes still darting between the Sulyyan and the Taejins. The men at the corner still seemed suspicious but hadn't made a move towards their hiding place.

"Hey," Aquinas asked in a concerned whisper now, tapping the pinkette's shoulder, "What's wrong with your hand-?" Before Lightning could turn towards the girl a sharp stab in her wrist caused a yelp to escape her throat. Though her attention was now focused on slapping Aquinas' hand away and cradling her bad wrist, she had little doubt the Taejin's had heard and were probably on their way to investigate. They needed to move. Yet once again, before she could do so, Aquinas put a hand on her shoulder again. As she caught the Sulyyan's gaze, she once again noticed a dullness in them that did not suit her. Aquinas put a finger to her lips, pointed it at Lightning, then down the hall away from the Taejins.

_'What are you going to-?'_

Lightning couldn't finish mouthing the question. Aquinas swiftly reached up, over the planter, to pull something down. Leaves? She caught a wide grin on the Sulyyan's face before suddenly, there was a whoosh of air and a loud thwack as Aquinas bolted away from her, out of hiding. Lightning didn't need to hear the string of profanities from one of the Taejin's mouth to realize what had happened.

"Hey-!"

"It's that Sulyyan brat!" The Taejin barely two feet from her, clutching his face yelled.

"What the hell just-?"

"He had a little something on his face!" Lightning spotted Aquinas say to the second and third Taejins—stil confused—as she zipped past him. The Taejin that had been looming over her hiding place had already moved away, in pursuit of the Sulyyan.

"Don't stand there like idiots, get her!" The two of them began their chase but by now Aquinas had disappeared from view and was no doubt already too far for them to catch her.

After waiting another minute out of caution, Lightning finally stood and stepped out from behind the planter. The pain in her wrist had returned to a dull ache as she let it drop to her side. Taking no chances, she followed Aquinas' instructions and continued down the hall she'd run down, in the opposite direction Aquinas had led the Taejins. She followed the hallway around several corners before it was revealed lead back to the large chamber at the end of the main entrance hall.

Glancing up at the opening overhead, she saw the sky was dark. It made her wonder exactly how late it was. How long had it been since the explosion? As her eyes returned to the rest of the room, she noticed how dimly the area was lit. It may have been because the area was so large but aside from the torches that lit most of the halls leading to the large space, the actual area itself was quite dark—ominous almost. And as far as she could tell, it was deserted. It was eerily silent despite being such a large space that seemed to connect with all the other parts of the temple.

She hesitated before taking a step out of the hallway she was in. If she remembered correctly, the room prepared for the Oerbans was down the hall across the way. She ignored a prickly feeling in the back of her neck as she began crossing through the near-darkness. The lack of light making it hard to calculate distance, it might have been maybe halfway to where she'd been headed that suddenly it was becoming easier to see—to clear for it to have been her eyes 'adjusting to the darkness'.

She slowed slightly, looking upward. There was a pale beam of light from the moon outside filtering through the opening above but the moon hadn't risen enough for the light to have reached the ground. No the light seemed to be coming _from_ the ground. And was increasing with each step she took. Her eyes finally settled on a shadow that a few feet away. She'd forgotten about the strange device that had intrigued her earlier when she'd first arrived at the temple. No longer a shadow, her curiosity and fascination for it returned. It had started to glow.

It was a dim glow at first but with step after careful step towards it, it grew in brightness and intensity. The coils that had formed the strange egg shape had begun to spin silently. Like a moth to a flame, Lightning couldn't pull herself away. She had no idea what the object was for or what it could do but she wanted to know—had to know. Just a little further-

"Curious..." A voice jerked her entire body back. The pinkette's eyes darted left to right, the newfound illumination of the area not helping identify the voice's owner. In fact, between the dim hum of the glowing object and the eerie the large area seemed to impossibly echo the sound, she found it hard to focus on much else, "It would appear you are full of surprises." Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed movement. And out from around the object, stepped Yeul. Dressed in longer, lighter robes, bandages covering her right arm and shoulder, a flower bud in her hands. The pinkette observed the priestess. She'd been more or less right on top of the explosive when it had gone off. Yet she was standing, walking, perfectly normal with no real evidence of injury sans the bandages? Impossible.

"Priestess..." Lightning blinked away temporary speechlessness, "Wh-What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." Yeul replied, her eyes on the glowing object that had dimmed slightly in Lightning's sudden retreat from it, "It's unusual for anyone other than myself or those that reside in this temple to be able to awaken the artifact," Grey eyes landed on the pinkette, "Let alone a Palamecian."

"Ex-Palamecian." Lightning mumbled, almost on reflex despite the bitterness of her tone.

"Are certain of that?" It took a moment for the pinkette to process the question. Was it a question? How was she supposed to answer that? Before she could, Yeul seemed to have dismissed the idea of receiving an answer anyway. She walked towards the artifact, raising her hand holding the flower bud. The pinkette watched as the flower immediately began to bloom. Bright white petals, tinged with a hint of gold—whether from the artifact's glow or not, was debatable—began to open and spread. It was a beautiful thing to witness but highly unnatural. What _was_ that thing?

"Did you know that even gods can cry?" The priestess began, circling the artifact slowly, as the flower in her hand continued to bloom, "The proof of their sorrow can affect our world beyond what we can imagine." Lightning was frozen, the entrancing crystal and the cryptic words from Yeul kept every last shred of her attention, "Life…" Yuel waved the flower in her hand slightly, drawing the pinkette's eyes to it. She then moved it closer to the glow, almost touching the edges of where the artifact's coils were spinning. As soon as the nearest petal disappeared into the light, the rest of the flower wilted, shriveled and turned to ash, slipping through the priestess' fingers into nothingness, "Death."

Lightning's mind was racing. Despite the cryptic words, the pinkette was aware of at least some of what Yeul was speaking of. She'd assumed whatever was inside the artifact—or even the artifact itself—was similar to the crystals Cocoon used to power itself. It was the same kind of energy that powered the Palamecian Knights' weapons and armor. But she'd never actually seen one of the crystals. Not even the one housed in Palamecia. Even so, she doubt it looked anything like what was floating before her in that moment.

"Do you know what pleases Etro the most?" Yeul continued, reaching up and undoing the bandages around her shoulder and arm, "Is it when one regularly sends her their prayers? When one dedicates their life, faith and beliefs to her?" Lightning's jaw tightened when she saw the damage to her arm—or rather lack thereof. Her eyes then widened at the impossible lack of injury to Yeul's skin. She'd heard of medicines that could do wonders but to have healed damage that severe in such short time was nothing short of a miracle. She'd had her own experience of 'miraculous' healing but though her injuries hadn't been quite as severe, it had still taken longer than the impossible amount of time Yeul had needed. The pinkette's eyes widened even further as Yeul lifted her arm up to the artifact—as if to touch it.

"Neither of these is correct." Yeul then stepped forward suddenly and before Lightning could make a move, she slid her entire arm into the glow of the artifact. As she did so, the spinning stopped as it pulsed brightly once. Lightning's eye darted between the artifact and the priestess. The expression on Yeul's face hadn't changed and her eyes were now locked onto the pinkette's, "Rather than who or what we believe in, Etro cherishes our _ability_ to believe." Slowly, Yeul took a step away from the artifact, pulling her arm back out of the glow and into view, "To look beyond what we're shown; to question what we're told; to challenge what we experience."

"Blind belief is foolishness." The pinkette mumbled despite her bafflement at the priestess' arm.

"Blind belief is hope." Yeul countered. If she weren't so focused on Yeul's arm, Lightning could have sworn she saw a hint of amusement cross Yeul's features, "And Etro favors the hopeful." She swallowed a lump in her throat as Yeul took her injured hand with her own—now more or less completely healed. Apart from some redness and bruising there was no evidence her arm had been burned at all. With her other hand, Yeul motioned to the artifact.

Slowly Lightning felt herself being guided nearer the artifact. It may have been Yeul, pulling her by her arm, or it may have somehow been the artifact itself, drawing her near again like it had when she'd first entered the room. Either way, her injured hand was less than a foot away from the coils that had slowly resumed spinning around the bright, glowing center.

"What do you hope for, Lightning?"

Swallowing the impossibly large lump in her throat, she stepped forward.

And for the second time that evening, she felt a powerful force hit her as she found herself fly off her feet, right into another one of her nightmares.

_.:.::_

_Just like every other one, she stood in a bright white room. Against one wall was a single, floating couch encased in a clear crystal. She's never made her way over to it. Something kept her from doing so, she couldn't say what. So it remained crystallized, always._

_Eventually the walls began to change as blurry images flickered in and out. Like trying to watch a feed that was incomplete or corrupted. And what she could make out, confused her. Faces and voice she'd never seen nor heard in her waking life seemed hauntingly familiar. A dark haired man with a fatherly smile, a lighter-haired man with a cheeky grin and a young man—barely a man—with an expression of admiration.  
_

_Most unnerving of all was a blurred imaged of herself. Only younger, and not quite the same. Similar but different. It was the only figure that remained blurred. Yet it was the one she felt the most need to see clearly. Yet it never changed—with each repeat of the nightmare the figure remained obscured. Also unlike the others, she never heard her voice. Though it seemed as if she was calling to her which only increased her want—her need—to see her clearly._

_Next came the shadows. Having tried previously in the nightmares that came before, she didn't bother to run, there wasn't a way out of the room she was in. Instead she merely braced herself. Quickly, the hushed voices around her began increasing in volume, blurring together to create a single, hissing sound. Then, one after another, out of the walls, from every direction blurred shadowy wisps flew at her. Each one that hit her caused an impossible jolt of pain to sear through her body. She would attempt to dodge what she could but there were far too many and they were far too fast for her to remain untouched._

_Each jarring bolt to her body sent a flash of an image past her eyes. A crystal figure. A giant hand. A broken tower. A cracked world. A white armored stallion. A giant moving cloud. Red-eyed monsters._

_Suddenly the images stopped. The shadows stopped. She fell to her knees, taking gulps air, attempting to shake off the aftershocks of the pain forced through her body and mind. She eyed the room suspiciously, she'd usually have woken up by now. Usually she'd have forgotten everything by now._

_She found a set of boots enter her vision on the ground in front of her. She looked up to see Yeul. Only slightly altered. Her hair was even longer, and fell in waves instead of straight down her back. Her eyes were glowing white and her skin looked like crystal. The figure reached down and touched her forehead._

"_-ly one way to completely destroy Cocoon..."_

"_-Three steps. Three keys..."_

"_-ou cannot comprehend the consequences of you actions..."_

"_-ill shatter it's shell and cause chaos to rain from the skies!"_

"_-ey destroyed my people already!"_

"_-aying the keys are Gran Pulsian artifacts..?"_

"_-ight you can't! She'll die!"_

"_-m going to get her back—I'll be damned if I let them hurt her..."_

"_-You **will **bring about the end of Cocoon. Cocoon **MUST** fall."_

_She let out a yell as crystal fingers left her forehead, leaving a slight burning sensation. When she looked up, the Yeul look-a-like was gone. She made no attempt to try to get to her feet, instead she shut her eyes trying to make sense of the new set of visions that had been burned into her brain. New voices. New faces. Yeul? Caius? Virrez? Alistor? Aquinas? Three keys? To destroy Cocoon?_

"_Claire." The name cut through the both the haze in her mind and the haze that had begun to filter throughout the room, "Claire." It repeated. She found it difficult to open her eyes again. When she finally did, she was further surprised. The one face that she'd never seen clearly was staring at her as an image on the wall opposite, clear as day. It wasn't her. It was... well the only way she could explain it was if she'd had a younger sister- "Claire." The face repeated once more. She willed herself to respond but found she couldn't. Instead, she reached out to it, "You can save it. Save Cocoon." That name... that voice... "Three steps, three keys, Claire." She knew that voice..._

_A sharp twist in her gut caused her to recoil and curl into a ball on the floor. She was waking up. No. Not yet. She needed to know more. She couldn't afford to forget. But the room was already beginning to disappear. She heard two last things before it faded completely. from somewhere behind her, there was the crack of crystal and a from her own lips, she uttered in a whisper one word. One name._

"_...Serah."_

* * *

**A/N:.**

Hmmmmm... strange things be happenin..._  
_


	15. Shadow

**.:.:: Chapter 14  
.:.:: Shadow  
**

* * *

"Come back here you brat!"

"Why is it always automatically '_brat'?_?" Aquinas grumbled as she darted around a corner, the sound of yelling Taejin behind her pushing her forward, "I mean, I know you guys aren't known for your imagination but seriously..."

"Aquinas, less snark, more running!" Vanille, from a few feet ahead of her called over her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The silver-haired girl vaulted over a few planters and sped up to close the gap between them, "Why are _you_ running? They didn't see you." She commented as they both turned a corner to climb a flight of stairs. The Oerban seemed to think for a moment before stopping at the top. Aquinas found herself skidding at the sudden halt.

"Y'know, you're right." Vanille pointed at her as the Taejin yells floated up from the bottom of the flight of stairs. Aquinas threw a puzzled look at the Oerban before the woman in questioned shoved her back out into view for the pursuers below.

"Up there!"

"What-!?"

"Don't get caught." Vanille said before slipping down the hallway behind her, leaving Aquinas even more confused than before. The Sulyyan would've continued staring after the Oerban, mouth agape but the Taejin halfway up the stairs spurred her back into motion. Mumbling a few curses at Vanille's actions, Aquinas turned and ran down the hall in the opposite direction. The scuffling of Taejin boots continued to follow her.

From what she remembered of the temple, the hallway she was running down eventually would lead to a dead end. Another curse under her breath as she turned the last corner. Along the left of the hall was stone but the right looked out over the edge of the temple. It was a drop of at least a few dozen feet. The sound of the waterfall alongside the temple crashing into the river below. Something clicked in Aquinas' head as she skid to a halt in front of the inevitable dead end.

"Got you now, you brat." The Taejin caught up, slowing to a walk for the last dozen feet between them and her.

"Y'know, if you guys wanted to hang out, all you had to do was ask..." Aquinas jested, eying the four of them as they stepped closer, "But chasing me across half the temple-?" 10 feet.

"Shut up, Aquinas." Another Taejin cut her off, jabbing an accusing finger at her, "Didn't you learn not to eavesdrop on people?" 8 feet

"Eavesdrop? It was purely coincidence that I just... happened to be-"

"Bullshit!" Yet another Taejin spat, interrupting again, "You heard everything didn't you?!" 5 feet. Aquinas looked the Taejin in the eyes before grinning again.

"Everything worth hearing." 3 feet, "Though if you wanna run through it again, I could just tell you which parts I didn't quite ge-"

"GET HER!" The Taejin screamed, launching himself at her. The Sulyyan adeptly spun away, out of his attempt to grab her.

"I'm so gonna regret this..." She muttered before darting to the left. The other Taejin, momentarily stunned by the maneuver, recovered and all moved to stop her. But by the time they had, Aquinas had reached the edge. To all their surprise, the Sulyyan jumped onto the railing and without hesitation, launched herself off.

**A few hours earlier ::.:.**

Aquinas let out a badly stifled cough out of confusion of whether to break the incredibly awkward silence that surrounded the three other women as she joined them on the balcony of the area allocated to the Oerbans during negotiations. She slowed to a stop to observe that both Vanille and Fang had their eyes locked on Lightning while the pinkette had her eyes glued to the ground. All three looked as if they were in a trance. The Oerbans looked as though they were waiting for Lightning to make a move. Lightning looked as though she were waiting for the floor below her to crack and split to swallow her whole. Not one of them looked as though they'd had a decent night's sleep.

"So…" The Sulyyan finally decided to cut in, "What'd Light do now? Bring about the end of the world?" Somehow she concluded that the line was a terrible opener before she'd finished saying it. The looked all three of them gave her as she did, confirmed her suspicion. Not even the fact that she'd appeared by climbing across the building to arrive directly on the balcony itself managed to deter the tense atmosphere.

"So let me get this straight." Fang's attention quickly returned to Lightning, "You had a nightmare in which the priestess showed you a vision—of which you don't remember anything but the destruction of Cocoon by Gran Pulsians?"

"That's rephrasing a little bit-" Vanille started.

"Really?" Only Fang could be this pissed off this early in the morning, Aquinas thought, "Because that's all I heard."

"Your level of selective hearing borderlines ignorant stupidity." Lightning lashed back in that calm yet cold and sharp tone of hers.

"Coming from the one making an accusation like yours based off a bloody nightmare she doesn't even remember-"

"It was no nightmare, the vision happened-"

"What happened?" Aquinas' question was ignored.

"You expect us to believe that you had a late night talk with the Priestess in which she showed you the future? Where—surprise, surprise—we're the bad guys."

"This goes beyond 'good' and 'bad'." The edge in Lightnings voice grew sharper with every other word, "This is about Chaos." The word seemed to spark something in Vanille as well as Aquinas.

"Chaos?" Aquinas repeated the word first though seemingly unheard, evident in the short silence before Vanille echoed.

"Chaos?" The smaller Oerban looked the pinkette in the eyes with an expression of seriousness rarely seen by anyone—Fang included, "Chaos in the common sense of the word?" Lightning looked confused.

"As opposed to what?"

"As opposed to the darkness that Etro controls." Came the unnerving, ominous answer. By the sudden switch of confusion to realization on Lightning's face, it was apparent to the others that the latter suggestion was the correct one.

"What exactly happened?" Aquinas asked, though once again, it seemed her question remained unanswered.

"Oh come on." Fang turned to Vanille, "Even you have to think this is a little much… It's crazy!"

"You mean kinda like how for the first time ever, there's an assassination attempt on the priestess of Paddra? During the middle of a festival… Using explosives no less." Aquinas thought to herself before realizing she may have actually spoken aloud seeing the three pairs of eyes bearing into her with equal disapproval, "Oh, _NOW_ you decide to listen to me!?" She mumbled, hopping off the ledge of the balcony she'd been perched on, "So does this have anything to do with whatever the Taejin were talking about yesterday evening?" The three glares of disapproval all quickly shifted to surprise, causing the Sulyyan to raise an eyebrow, her own gaze landing on Lightning.

"The Taejin?" Fang immediately began looking between the two, "Talking about what?"

"Not much apparently." Aquinas continued when Lightning didn't answer immediately, "I barely got there before-"

"I overheard a few Taejin speaking about the explosion and then about working on something in their tower." Lightning elaborated—barely.

"Well _that's_ certainly significant." Fang said with an exasperated sigh, "As if there was anyone in the damn city that _wasn't_ talking about the explosion. And the Taejin talking about their tower!? How bizarre!"

"Little too much sarcasm there, Fang." Aquinas shook her head, "Doesn't suit you." The Oerban responded by rolling her eyes.

"Like Aquinas said," Lightning cleared her throat, "Nothing happened."

"Actually, I believe I said _'not much'_." Aquinas cut in again, raising a hand in correction, "There was, in fact, a headbutt." She tapped her chin, smirking with an inappropriate sort of pride.

"Oh Aquinas!" Vanille scolded, finally speaking up once more, "Be serious!" Fang had a look on her face that seemed to be a mix of surprise, amusement and something else entirely.

"What?!" Aquinas raised both her hands defensively, "It hurt! My jaw's still sore—Fang knows what I'm talking about." The Sulyyan motioned to the taller of the Oerbans. Fang merely looked away, avoiding Vanille's increasingly heated gaze, clearly wanting no part in adding fuel to the fire Aquinas had started, "If Lightning wasn't so hard-headed—excuse the pun-" They didn't, voicing so with their audible groans, "-We might have heard more."

"So you're saying they were talking about something worth hearing?" Fang asked.

"I'm saying it's possible, but to have been that adamant on staying hidden somewhat gives the impression that one already knew something fishy was going on." Aquinas hinted with the subtlety of an enraged behemoth king. Lightning merely stared back at Aquinas, the intensity of it causing the smaller woman to begin to regret prodding the pinkette.

"I have no idea what's going on." It was technically the truth. Lightning merely held pieces of a puzzle, it was far from complete.

"Then why'd you hide?" Fang questioned. The accusing tone of voice pushed the pinkette that much closer to the edge.

"They nearly killed me." She snapped quickly, "Or do you not remember fishing my broken body out of the river near your village?" The piercing comment was like a whip to the face—to all three of the others who immediately backed off a little. Lightning immediately regret the brief loss of control and took a deep breath, rebuilding her inner wall of calm. She still hadn't figured out what made her relay everything to Fang and Vanille, all at once, first thing that morning.

_.:.::_

_She had been greeted by a rather blinding light as she opened her eyes. She immediately shut them tight, reflexively jerking her head to the side as the stars behind her eyelids faded. As it passed, she opened her eyes again, slowly, blinking away the sleep that clung to them. She was met with the view of stone not a foot from her face._

"_Cocoon **MUST** fall."_

_The muffled words pierced through the haze in her head and made way for the barrage of memories of the night previous. As if they were physically squirming their way through her head, the pinkette shot up, her hands immediately at its sides. The Taejin and the chase; the explosive and explosion; the interrogation with Caius and... Yeul. She blinked a few times as the flood of recollection slowed. She remembered everything up until her meeting with Yeul. Then it was all jumbled. It was there just, obscured with a frustrating screen, preventing her from accurately recalling their full conversation and whatever came after that._

_::.:._

"Look, I saw the Priestess, touched the glowing artifact, had the vision, lost consciousness in the atrium and woke up this morning in the bed-"

"Wait, hang on." Vanille cut her off, "You didn't mention touching the artifact." Lightning's brow furrowed at the now curious, almost excited look in the small Oerban's eyes, "You said it was glowing but you touched it?"

"…Yes." The pinkette replied hesitantly.

"While it was active-glowing?"

"...Yes." She looked between the Vanille and Fang who exchanged less than subtle glances at one another, "What?"

"That's impossible." Fang stated bluntly. It was solemn and without spite. It was so matter-of-fact it jarred Lightning a little.

"Nobody but the priestess can touch the artifact." Vanille stated in a similar tone. As if reciting out of a book of law.

"What like as a rule-?"

"No, as like anyone not the Priestess gets whatever limb they touch it with disintegrated." Fang interjected quickly, "Not even Aqui." Lightning didn't miss Fang seemingly catch herself, as if she'd said something she shouldn't have. Before the pinkette could latch onto the thought, Vanille pushed the conversation forward.

"There's a reason why that atrium is so large." Vanille added, "The Paddraseans couldn't move it so they had to build the temple around it." The smaller Oerban shook her head, visibly torn between her willingness to believe Lightning and the proof she'd seen—more than once—that proved what the pinkette was saying, was impossible.

"She's isn't lying." Aquinas once again, out of nowhere, gained all three of their attention at once. Lightning noticed the Sulyyan staring not at her face, but down at her arm. She couldn't resist the urge to reflexively reach for it, as if covering up evidence of a crime, "I knew it injured."

"Injured…" Vanille picked up on it first, "You injured your arm? In the explosion?" The smaller girl quickly reached for the limb in question. Lightning couldn't pull away fast enough and once the Oerban had a grip on it, she found it impossible to resist as the sleeve was pushed up to reveal her forearm, in perfectly fine condition.

"Well its fine now." Aquinas explained, somehow sensing Vanille's confusion, "It's why she's probably telling the truth." The others turned to the Sulyyan, "I sensed it but I didn't have time to heal it before we had to... part ways" She shared a brief look with the pinkette, "Vanille didn't know about it so she didn't heal it." Aquinas shrugged, motioning over her shoulder, "And I'll bet if you checked with the temple healers, not one of them would recall treating it either."

Lightning found it hard to swallow. Yes, it looked as though the others were at least beginning to believe her recollection of the night before but their focus on her reaction to the artifact—and even more so vice versa—wasn't making her any less tense.

"What were the injuries?' Vanille asked, still examining her arm.

"Three fractures, severe swelling; worse than if it were broken to be honest." Aquinas stated, the diagnosis uncannily accurate for someone who'd just briefly touched her. Lightning eyed the Sulyyan warily. She only received a smile in return, "To have dealt with the pain for that long without treatment is an impressive feat." The Sulyyan tilted her head, "Yeul was healing herself using the artifact when you met her, wasn't she?"

"Why didn't you mention it?" Lightning didn't have an immediate answer for Vanille.

"More like why'd she hide it." Fang's blatant suspicion certainly wasn't helping anything.

"I was busy being accused of something I didn't do." Lightning shot back, her wall of calm once again beginning to crumble.

"Again, apparently." The pinkette didn't miss the muttered words. Her jaw tightened and the hand held by Vanille formed a fist. Cerulean pierced green as it became Lightning's turn to search Fang's eyes for an explanation. What did she mean _'again'_-?

"Has anyone thought to just… y'know… ask Yeul about this?" Aquinas piped up. The three taller women looked between one another. The Sulyyan raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. Another awkward silence.

"The Paddraseans are still on edge from last night." Fang spoke up after a while, seemingly glad for the change of course of the discussion, "It'll be hard to get anywhere near her before negotiations reopen." Lightning agreed—silently of course. It was the most effective course of action but the least convenient time to take it. Before she could think anything else however, she felt herself being forced forward by the arm. Only this time it was much more of a pull than a gentle guide. Vanille was leading her towards the doorway.

"Well, the artifact isn't going anywhere." She said over her shoulder, "And since otherwise we'd be stuck talking in circles..." She trailed off as she continued to guild Lightning through the doorway and down the hall towards the atrium. Lightning vaguely registered the other two eventually fall in line behind to follow.

As they entered the atrium it was as it was the day they arrived. The wide area, brightly lit area in the center, around the artifact remained empty and free of temple inhabitants. A few guards stood at selected entrances to other hallways. Small groups of other temple residents were chatting nearer the walls or passing through keeping somewhat clear of the artifact as though it were a rule to do so.

When Lightning felt Vanille stop pulling and her feet stop moving they were standing more or less right next to the strange structure, at the edge of the pool of water where it sat. Sunlight glinted off the metal framework, mimicked by the liquid surrounding it's base. Lightning could reach out and touch the largest metal ring that circled the center horizontally.

Taking in the enormous artifact, still silent, still unmoving, she threw a glance back towards the others. Aquinas and Fang exchanged glances. Vanille mere watched both her and the artifact intently, as if waiting for something to happen. Let out a heavy sigh, Lightning once more turned to the strandes of metal. She leaned forward as far as she should, examining the metal-work. After a moment of meticulous examination, she noticed something on the outer-most rim. Words engraved into the largest of the strands that created the egg-like structure. No doubt they were etched in long ago but were still perfectly readable.

"What's this?"

"A Gran Pulsian legend-"

"Supposedly." Fang cut Vanille off, "It's ancient story that's been told so many different ways no one actually know the real one anymore." She ran a hand through her hair, throwing a disapproving look at the artifact and text in question, "And every version makes so little sense even the elders are skeptical of it."

"That doesn't change the fact that it exists." Aquinas pushed, "They all have the same elements; A chosen being or entity, Etro's tears or sorrow, the three elements or keys, the end of the wo-"

"Wait..." Lightning held up a hand to stop Aquinas, "Three keys..." She mumbled, faintly recalling the same phrase from the vision, "I've heard that... I heard that in the vision..." She looked between the three of them, "Tell me more about the story—this legend." There was a brief, confused silence before the three other women looked between one another.

"Well like Fang said, the legend is very old. There are many different versions."

"But like Aqui said, they have the same key elements right?" Lightning had found her first link and she wasn't about to let it go, "I need to know more about them. There must be some record of the original legend somewhere; if there's one thing the people of Cocoon know about the Gran Pulsians, it's their remarkable will to hold on to their traditions and history."

"Well, if you want to be completely thorough, the Paddrasean archives would be the best bet..." Aquinas put forward, "But there is one written... 'version' that's one of the oldest known—meaning it's probably close to the original... although it's-"

"It's not in the archives?" Lightning asked. She searched the three of their faces, waiting for an answer. They all seemed to be looking past her. She followed their gazes to her hand, resting on the engraved artifact ring. She ran a hand over a few of the characters before turning back to the others, "This?" They all nodded. Lightning slowly began to follow the strand and the text carved into it. She found where it started and proceeded to follow it around, reading as she went, trailing her fingers along the characters as she did so.

"To those that do not belong  
From the future that does not exist  
Take heed the rule of three  
Three strands of chaos woven together  
Three sacrifices are made  
Three keys unlock the weapon of destruction  
The power, the focus, the trigger  
And the time will come when worlds collide."

Lightning came to a stop as she finished reading, no longer having to follow the words around the artifact. She repeated the passage to herself, her mind slowly processing it, "This isn't a legend… It's a prophecy..." She turned to the others, "This is a message-" As she caught the others' gazes, she frowned when she saw all were looking at her as though she'd been speaking a different language, "What?" She looked between them. They all shared an equally dumbfounded, completely baffled look before turning back to her.

"Light…" Vanille said almost cautiously, as if she were afraid of the answer to the question she was about to ask, "Have you… always known how to read Old Pulsian?" The pinkette blinked. Old Pulsian? The characters carved onto the artifact were standard characters- Her thought halted when she found as she did look back at the engravings in question, the strange text was written in a language she'd never seen before. She immediately grew perplexed at how she hadn't noticed before she'd started reading.

"Old Pulsian…" Lightning mumbled, scanning the characters once more but they no longer made sense to her. What the hell was going on here?

"It's an ancient language-"

"A dead language." Fang interjected before Vanille continued.

"We don't use it any more. Even among the elders it's rarely used."

"Well Vanille tried to learn it." Aquinas spoke up, motioning to the smaller Oerban, "Didn't you?"

"Tried being the key word… there's no longer enough proper, full texts around to learn from—and that includes the Paddrasean archives." Vanille's eyes didn't leave Lightning even though she was responding to Aquinas' comment, "Even the lessons from the elders only consisted of the basics. Nowhere near enough for me to be able to read anything fluently."

"You study our languages up there in your nest?" Fang asked, motioning towards Lightning. The pinkette shook her head.

"Some basic Gran Pulsian, but I've never heard of Old Pulsian-"

"But the first time you see it, you can somehow understand it perfectly fine." Aquinas piped up, "Interesting…"

"Hang on, if no one is able to read it anymore, how did this become known as a record of your legend?" Lightning asked, motioning to the artifact.

"Well... there is… one person who can read it." Vanille answered, again, with a caution like she were about to reveal an important, well-kept secret.

"Let me guess, the priestess?" Lightning didn't need an answer.

"Yes, but she never actually read that particular passage aloud, nor mentioned anything about it being a message." Vanille shook her head, "There are so many other, more recent writings of it I guess we all eventually came to base it on those."

"Old Pulsian or not, the legend or... prophecy or whatever, reads the same." Fang cut in, "There's a chosen one that will find the three keys that'll bring about the end of the world."

"Old Pulsian or not, it's all very melodramatic." Aquinas added before she could stop herself, "Though the Old Pulsian makes everything seem melodramatic I'd imagine-"

"It's just a story, an old tale put together by a few scared Gran Pulsians centuries ago." Fang stated, "If anything is going to end the world it's not going to be the action of one individual supposedly hand-picked by Etro. It's the bloody war that Gran Pulse and Cocoon have been dancing around for years now." She paused for a moment before eying Lightning, "Besides, how do we know you didn't just make that all up? There's no way any of us could tell if it reads something completely different-"

"Seriously, Fang?" Aquinas interrupted, "Does Lightning really look like she'd make something like that up?" All three of the other women were slightly surprised at the Sulyyan's sudden defense of the pinkette. And for a moment, so did Aquinas.

"Legend, Prophecy, message, wild-goose chase." Lightning spoke after a moment of awkward silence, "Whatever it is, my nightmares were real, my vision was real, and I need to know the reason for them." She reached up to touch the engravings once more. This time the metal began to hum. And as she her fingers brushed against it, the text began to glow. It was a dim glow at first, and then grew in luminosity.

"What in the…" Aquinas muttered, confirming that it wasn't just the pinkette witnessing it. Both Fang and Vanille's eyes widened as they too, saw the text now glowing a dim blue-purple, "Oh this can't be good."

"Light…?" They all watched as Lightning immediately went to pull her hand away but as if suddenly gaining a life of its own, the line of text seemed to float out of the metal and wrap itself around her arm, preventing her from pulling away.

"What in the world-?!"

"Blood hell-?!"

They were still too stunned to move as they watched the line of text begin to coil up and around Lightning's arm. She went to grab it with her other hand but it were as if it was moving under her skin. There was no physical pain but there was definitely a very real, physical force the glowing characters exerted around her arm.

Eventually the others noticed Lightning's eyes were shut tight. Not so much in pain, but as if she were concentrating hard on something. Either way, Vanille made her decision to help. She reached out hand to grab her by the wrist. As soon as she did so however, the text began to spread, copying itself and make its way around Vanille's arm, it's blue-purple glow fading into blue-green.

"Vanille don't-!" Fang protested, grabbing the smaller Oerban's arm, trying to pull it away. She was more careful not to grab at Vanille's wrist as to not touch the area the text was coiling around but once again the text seemed to duplicate, raising up as a snake-like entity, away from Vanille arm and darting forward to grasp Fang's wrist. As soon as it made contact, it changed from turquoise to red-orange.

"Aqui don't-!" Fang manage to warn when she saw Aquinas move towards them out the corner of her eye. The Sulyyan—despite panicking—obeyed, watching as the text finished coiling around each of their arms. As soon as it had, each color glow grew bright and with a single pulse, Vanille and Fang shut their eyes in a similar fashion to Lightning as if bracing themselves for something big.

"This… _definitely_ can't be good." Aquinas muttered.

Then as soon as it began, the glow disappeared, there was a suddenly gust of wind that seemed to flow out from trio's arms where they were connected, then nothing. No hum; no glow; the artifact remained unchanged, the engraved ring still telling the story of legend. Aquinas found herself struggling for breath, eying the three other women as they pulled away from each other.

Aquinas could tell something had happened between them. They'd all seen something in that brief moment the text bound them together. The text now gone however. As Aquinas would have seen, it had faded into their skin without a trace. The Sulyyan continued to study all three of them. They were all were visibly shaken by whatever it was they had seen. She observed as the three of them looked between one another, the same confused—almost scared—thought reflected on their faces.

"What happened?" Aquinas hesitated to ask as the three of them, "Hey… what happened?" She asked again, catching their attention with her significantly loud second attempt at figuring out what the hell had just taken place. There was no answer. The three of them merely continued to look between themselves and their arms—the shaken expressions remaining on their faces.

"Did you see?" Lightning finally formed words, though addressing the other two rather than the Sulyyan.

"I saw..." Fang answered with a frown, "I don't know what I saw." Vanille merely nodded, her fist clenched around one of her necklaces.

"Saw what?" Aquinas tried again.

"The three keys: the power, focus and trigger, they unlock a weapon." Lightning spoke as if reading instructions, "A weapon powerful enough to destroy Cocoon."

"If the weapon even exists-" Fang started.

"It does exist; you had to have seen it." Lightning cut her off, motioning toward the Oerban with her arm. Fang clenched her jaw and looked away.

"I told you, I don't know what I saw."

"What weapon?!" Aquinas started once more but like many times before, remained disregarded.

"That must have been what the Taejin were talking about…" Lightning muttered, retreating back briefly into her own thoughts.

"Taejin?" Vanille asked, "You think the Taejin are looking for the weapon?" She shook her head, "They're a nasty bunch but I doubt they'd be capable of pulling off anything like what you're suggesting." Lightning seemed to acknowledge the statement—agree even with a shadow of a nod. And after another brief silence, she seemed to come to a realization.

"Because they're not doing it alone."

"Not doing _what_ alone?!" Aquinas was practically hissing now, "Would someone _please_ tell me what in the hell is going on!?" The others finally turned to the Sulyyan, who was glaring at them at this point, "What did you see?" After another quick glance between them, Vanille spoke first.

"Aquinas I need you to go wait for me back at your room."

"What-!?"

"Please, I'll explain what I can when I get there." Vanille reassured. But Aquinas wasn't buying. The Sulyyan shrugged off the Oerban's attempt to put a hand on her shoulder.

"No, you can't cut me out of this like nothing just happened-"

"Aquinas, please!" Fang said sternly. There was no anger in her voice, just force. Enough to halt Aquinas' movements, "Please just… go back to your room." The Sulyyan stared hard into Fang's eyes. The tension between them was chilling, unnaturally so. Eventually Aquinas' gaze fell on Lightning. The pinkette did not give any orders like the other two, but there was a moment of reluctant understanding that caused Aquinas to finally step back.

"Fine." Was all she said before turning and walking away. The others watched her until she was out of sight. And it was only then that they'd noticed that it seemed no one else had seen what had just taken place. The guards at the entrances to hallways remained undeterred, the odd group of temple residents' murmuring to themselves seemed non-the wiser. Those walking across the atrium barely spared the three a glance as they passed by.

"I'm with Aqui on this, I don't know what you did Lightning but-"

"I didn't _do_ anything, it was your artifact that's relaying these… messages to me—now us." She motioned between them. She took a breath to calm herself down, "Look, you do and take what you want from this, I'm sure as hell not going to stand around and watch while Cocoon burns."

"You mentioned the Taejin working with others on finding this weapon?" Vanille stopped the pinkette from immediately leaving, "Who? Us Oerbans have never gotten along with the Taejin. The Sulyyans are too small a tribe and Yeul has no interest in Cocoon's destruction."

Lightning nodded. She couldn't have said much about the relations between the tribes of Gran Pulse but she knew something the other two didn't. The Taejin with the Cocoon explosive. Her jaw tightened as the link fell in place. It was a small one but it was there. Someone on Cocoon was working with the Taejin. But why?

"I have to go back." She thought—apparently aloud as the other two turned to her, eyebrows raised, "Forget the weapon for now, it's useless without the keys."

"And you think they're on Cocoon?"

"No they're on Gran Pulse." Lightning deducted, "To be able to destroy something like Cocoon the weapon would need significant power. Even the most powerful source of energy on Cocoon is taken from-"

"The crystals of Gran Pulse." Vanille finished, earning a nod of agreement from Lightning, "So the keys are crystals?"

"Most likely. Large ones—and old." She looked past Vanille at the artifact, "Artifacts like this one maybe." She paused for a second, "Do the other tribes have artifacts like this?"

"Not Oerba." Vanile answered with a shake of her head, "We have a few crystals scattered in and around the village, maybe a few larger ones embedded on the floor of the lake but nothing this size."

"Taejin's tower?"

"Couldn't say for sure, we usually stay away from them."

"Are you really suggesting we go crystal hunting until we stumble across the ones this… legend… prophecy, message—whatever—is talking about?" Fang interjected with a look of exasperation.

"No." Came a blunt reply, "Cocoon has developed ways of detecting crystals on the surface of Gran Pulse. I can use the technology to narrow it down to specifically high energy areas."

"Which is why you want to go back."

"Yes." It was partly why Lightning wanted to go back. She also wanted—needed to find out who on Cocoon was working with the Taejins, and why.

"Okay…" Vanille seemed to be absorbing the current information and situation better than Fang, who was tapping her foot and shifting her weight restlessly. Lightning gave Vanille a nod before turning to leave, "Wait." She was stopped by a gentle but firm grip on her arm, "Fang, I want you to go with her."

"What?" Both women spoke in union.

"Vanille, I'm not leaving you alone when-"

"For the next few days I'll probably have to stay in Paddra. With all that's happened, security's going to be tighter than ever." Vanille reassured her fellow Oerban, "Which means I can afford being without my guardian for a day or two."

"That doesn't mean-"

"I don't really like the idea of sending you up there but I also don't feel it's right for Lightning to go alone." Lightning's eyebrows shot up at the utter sincerity of Vanille's voice, "Something tells me it'll be as dangerous up there as it is down here." The sincerity didn't mask the strange, mysterious tone that accompanied a flash of a glance at the pinkette, "Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on Aquinas."

At the mention of the Sulyyan, Fang immediately seemed to back down. The taller Oerban just sighed and nodded. Taking it as the end of the conversation with no further need for discussion, Lightning turned and began walking back towards the Oerbans' room to formulate a plan.

Vanille gave Fang's arm a gentle squeeze before turning to head in the direction Aquinas had walked off in. After the few moments that her gaze was caught on the Paddrasean artifact, she continued on, leaving Fang to watch her go. Cursing under her breath, the Oerban turned around herself and moved to follow Lightning, who'd just about left the atrium by then. With an audible groan, she jogged to catch up, as she passed the artifact, she subconsciously found herself rubbing her arm.

She figured as she was jogging, she'd catch up to Lightning just as she exited the atrium but stepping into the hallway, Lightning seemed to have disappeared. She couldn't have been walking that fast. Fang saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye and turned to see the pinkette in question dart around the corner—down a hall in the opposite direction of the Oerbans' room. Suspicion rising, Fang quickly followed after her. When she reached the corner, she turned it to find the pinkette seemingly searching for something, standing at another intersection of hallways. The Oerban slowly walked up to her, wanting to remain unnoticed for as long as possible.

"What're you doing?" She asked, now merely half a dozen feet away. The pinkette spun to face her, the visibly spooked expression on her face almost escaped Fang's notice as she did so.

"I… thought I saw someone."

"…You thought you saw someone." Fang echoed as if not quite understanding what she were saying. She saw someone important enough for her to detour from supposedly saving her world? Fang didn't buy it, "Look I don't know what you think you're up to but I swear if you do anything that jeapordizes-" She was cut off as Lightning all but tackled her into the wall, "What the-?" Again she was cut off as she was pulled around a pillar, "What are you-!?"

"Shh." Lightning hushed her, putting a finger to her lips. It was then Fang realized their close proximity which immediately made her freeze. She didn't move—didn't breathe. Why was it so hard to breathe-?

"-Sir is it really wise to be sending use all back?"

"We cannot afford to deny requests from the Gran Pulsians. Not with what happened yesterday."

"We had nothing to do with that attack."

Voices from down the hall and around the corner temporarily focused her thoughts again. Fang recognized at least one of them.

"It doesn't matter, as Palamecians we are automatically prime suspects."

Fang remembered. The Palamecian Knight-Commander.

"It doesn't help that we have an entire squad of Sanctum soldiers back at the shuttle. If removing them as well as the majority of our own presence from Paddra eases tension in any way, for now it's the best course of action."

"Make ourselves less threatening."

"Exactly. Myself and two other knights will remain in Paddra to continue negotiations, the rest of you inform our Sanctum… escorts that the rest of you will be returning ahead of schedule."

"Raynes will not be pleased-"

"Sanctum was never meant to be on Gran Pulse in the first place. He's already made this situation a lot worse. I couldn't give a damn whether he be pleased or not."

"Yes sir."

After a few moments of shuffling and a series of metal tapping on stone—eventually fading away—Lightning and Fang seemed to both let themselves breathe again. They also happened to notice their position at the same moment, causing both to jump away immediately. Fang opened her mouth to say something—anything to fill the awkward silence but nothing came; no snide remark; no venom-laced-question. During her struggle to find the appropriate reaction, Lightning broke the silence first.

"You're sure about coming to Cocoon?"

"No." Fang answered honestly, receiving a raised eyebrow from the pinkette, "But if it's what Vanille wants…" She scoffed at the slightly perplexed expression that crossed Lightning's face, "Don't worry, I'll try not to cause any trouble."

"This cannot end well."

"Won't argue there." Again, Fang replied in honest agreement, "But think of it as a chance to show me the way of your people; help me understand why you aren't the tyrannical, power-hungry lot we Gran Pulsians seem to view you as." Another scoff, "Consider it an educational experience."

The words were meant to be spiteful but lacked the edge. Fang was tired, stressed and confused. Lightning seemed to pick up on this for she didn't retaliate. She merely nodded and stepped back.

"Do you even have a plan for us to get to Cocoon?"

"I do now." The pinkette stated with the flicker of a smile touching her lips. She paused briefly, seeming to eye Fang for a moment, "You'll need to leave that here." She motioned to Fang's lance as she moved away.

"Wait, what? Wait, hold on-" Fang immediately snapped to attention, reflexively reaching back to grip her weapon as if it were being forcibly taken from her, "-what? Out of the question. I rarely leave Oerba without it, there's no way I'm jumping into a nest of vipers without it!" When she didn't hear a response, she quickly moved to catch up with pinkette, "Hang on just a second, you really expect me to head into enemy territory without my weapon?" Lightning didn't stop walking down the hallway; she did however turn briefly to address Fang with a wave of her hand.

"Consider it an educational experience."

**Meanwhile, on the other side of the temple ::.**:.

Aquinas wasn't easily irritated. She generally had an easy-going, happy-go-lucky personality. But when one witnesses strands of glowing, flowing text wrap themselves around their friends and then being sent away by said friend without an explanation, even Aquinas found it difficult to remain calm.

They'd sent her to her room. How old did they think she was? Five? And how stupid did they think she could be? She'd seen some pretty bizarre things in her life; hell she, herself could be categorized as such but something about the artifact and its sudden, strange link to Fang, Vanille—and even more mysteriously, Lightning—just rubbed her all the wrong ways.

Maybe she was so frustrated because it felt as though Fang and Vanille weren't just disregarding her as a person but the entirety of Sulyya. If whatever was threatening Cocoon was inadvertently threatening Gran Pulse as well, it affected Sulyya just as much as the other tribes—even if they were the smallest by a massive margin. And if something was threatening Sulyya, Aquinas wasn't about to stand around idly while letting it happen.

Lightning had mentioned the Taejin. And the evening before, she'd been sneaking around a group of them, eavesdropping on their conversation. It was the only real clue she had to whatever the other three were up to so she decided to follow it. The Taejin were given an entire half a floor of the temple since they'd come in such a large group. Aquinas had figured the best place to find a few would be there.

She was presently making her way down a floor on the outside of the temple. Though they lived in a massive tower, the Taejin weren't the type to appreciate spectacular views. The view from the balcony of the area they'd been given wasn't an exception. If anything it was most likely less interesting than anything they could see from their tower.

Practically born to climb, making the decent down a floor was easy for the Sulyyan. She positioned herself just on the ledge below the outer corner of the Taejin's balcony. By now she could already hear the discussion taking place inside. She made sure that if by some off chance she was spotted, she could easily pull herself up and sprint down the hall. The setup of the particular area of the temple would mean the Taejin would have to run through their quarters, out and around the joining hall in order to chase her—giving her a substantial head start. And Aquinas ran better than she climbed.

"Every minute we spend here is a minute postponed on construction."

"As if you don't enjoy the break from having to work 20 hours a day."

"I wish I could have seen the look on Ballard's face when that explosion went off." Aquinas frowned. She knew one of the inate Taejin traits was the natural ability to be an asshole but it didn't make it any easier each time they flaunted it, "You'd think he of all people would remember the priestess is untouchable?"

"I saw she was pretty messed up when they pulled her out of there."

"Yeah, the Sulyyan brat had heal her on the spot." There was a round of scoffs, "These Paddraseans get a little scrape and it's like the end of the world."

"Well, eventually it'll be the end of one world." The statement caught Aquinas' ears. The fact that it was said quieter than the rest made it all the more intriguing. The Sulyyan decided to risk exposing herself partly in order to make sure she heard every word. She'd eventually adjusted her position to where if a Taejin happened to lean out over their balcony, and look to their left, they'd spot her. Sure they'd have to lean out pretty far but it was still a lot less safe than where she was before.

"Well the explosive we were given didn't work. The priestess is alive ain't she?"

"The point of the explosion wasn't to kill the priestess you fool. There's a reason it was done during the middle of a festival, taking place in the middle of negotiations with the Vipers."

"So everyone will blame the Vipers."

"Exactly."

Aquinas frowned. She knew the Taejin probably had the most disdain for the people of Cocoon but to attack another Gran Pulsian—a prominent figure of another tribe, no less—in order to frame them? It seemed a little too much, even for them. Plus, the Taejin weren't exactly known for subterfuge. Framing Cocoon? No, they'd more likely storm the moon themselves. That must have been what Lightning was talking about when she said they weren't working alone. But with who? The Oerbans wouldn't dare and she knew the Sulyyans stayed as far from any form of conflict, by nature. There's no way any Paddrasean would want harm to befall their priestess.

"And this weapon, supposedly powerful enough to burn down the Viper's nest?" The continuation of the conversation snapped Aquinas back out of her thoughts, "We're sure It'll work?" She froze when she saw one of the Taejin leaning against the balcony wall. She swallowed thickly. He was leaning with his back against the edge, so there was less chance he'd see her but still, the chance of her getting caught was increasing by the second.

"It will. If we find the right parts."

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?"

"We don't, our new friends have said they will be... provided to us at the right time."

"They already have them?"

"They didn't say."

"They don't say a lot of things."

"What do you expect? They're-"

"Aqui?!" Her name being called out cut off her focus. She cursed. She was certain she'd missed her best chance of learning whoever the Taejin were working with. She looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the distraction. To her right, down the hall near the corner of the temple, she saw Vanille leaning over the edge, looking—glaring—at her. As she saw the Oerban open her mouth to call again, she put a finger to her lips, urging her to refrain from calling out again. Luckily, Vanille seemed to understand and merely motioned for an explanation. Aquinas just signaled for her to wait and turned to shift her concentration back to eavesdropping.

As she turned however, she saw the Taejin leaning against the balcony wall had moved. He was stretching and yawning, arching his back out over the edge. She swallowed as his head turned and eyes met hers. Time seemed to freeze for what felt like years. Aquinas momentarily entertained the thought that maybe if she didn't move he wouldn't see her. But who was she kidding, the walls of the temple were bright white, and as small as she was, she was wearing black clothes.

"Oh boy-"

"You!" The Taejin finally reacted, jumping up off the wall and pointing.

"Yeah, took ya long enough, buddy!" Aquinas called before moving to pull herself up into the hallway to make her escape. She could hear the ruckus inside the Taejin quarters and she turned toward Vanille who had started making her way towards her. She motioned frantically for the Oerban to run as she broke into a sprint herself. After a seeing Aquinas begin to speed towards her, Vanille got the message, turning hesitantly before running towards the corner herself.

"Come back here you brat!" Aquinas heard the Taejin's footsteps and yells from behind her.

"Why is it always automatically _'brat'_?"

* * *

**.: A/N**

Doobeedoobeedoo


	16. Risk

**.:.:: Chapter 15  
.:.:: Risk**

* * *

"Stop being such a child!"

"Look, I've done every other crazy thing you've asked; left my weapon at the temple, put on this ridiculous excuse for a costume-" Fang pulled at the collar around her neck and hem of the shirt as Lightning fastened a few of the light torso armor across her back.

"Putting on the 'ridiculous costume' would be pointless without it being complete." Lightning mumbled, growing increasingly frustrated at her inability to completely fasten the armor correctly due to the Oerban's squirming. She forcibly dropped what she was doing and gripped Fang's shoulder and leaned up to hiss in her ear as to not add to the noise being made, "Just stay still for one minute! One minute!"

Lightning's sudden proximity and the pinkette's breath at her eat made Fang go ridged. She became still so quickly, there was a brief moment of bewilderment on Lightning's part. She quickly shook it off to continue to complete Fang's disguise.

Lightning's plan involved sneaking onto the shuttle transporting the majority of the Palamecian Knights back to Cocoon. They'd found out the Sanctum's shuttle—it's size more suited to a cargo ship—had been kept in a field to the west of the temple, technically outside Paddrasean borders. The open field may have been a problem but luckily it was not too far from the side of the mountain that wrapped around the valley Paddra sat within.

They'd successfully managed to sneak aboard the shuttle. The size of the airship proved to be an advantage in which even though there were at least a dozen Sanctum Soldiers scattered about the area, their patrols were light and left plenty of gaps for one to dart past. Of course, once the entirety of the squad, plus the Palamecians were on board, the risk of being caught would increase substantially.

Luckily they'd found the cargo hold, which stored extra weapons and armor in a set of lockers near the back. To increase their chances of remaining hidden—at least until they reached Cocoon—Lightning decided certain measures had to be taken.

"How do you know this will even work?" Fang's complaints started up again, "You don't think they'd notice two extra soldiers?"

"The Sanctum is basically both Cocoon's police force and military. The number of soldiers is probably close to a third of the entire population." The Oerban gave the pinkette a look over her shoulder that roughly translated to _'Your point?'_.

"Think of the Sanctum's outlook as quantity over quality." Lightning tried a metaphor, referring to the Sanctums lack of organization both despite and due to their numbers being so large. She couldn't tell whether Fang understood it though, all she heard in response was a scoff.

"So what, does that mean you Palamecians are quality over quantity?" Lightning merely rolled her eyes, finally on the last buckle strap, "Guess it makes sense… what with your attitudes all snooty and pompous-owww!" Fang's snark ended in a yelp as Lightning 'accidentally' pulled the strap a little too tight. This time Fang turned fully around to glare at the pinkette who merely shrugged.

"I'm not a Palamecian anymore." Before Fang could make a retort, Lightning shoved the last piece of her disguise at her, "Now, don't be a baby." Fang snatched the piece away as the pinkette reached for her own helmet, slipping it on and adjusting her hair so it was fully contained within. She motioned to Fang's head as the Oerban let out a dismayed sigh at the headpiece in her hands, "We can find you a comb when we get there." Lightning's face may have been covered by the helmet didn't mask the smirk Fang heard in her tone. The Oerban may as well have growled.

The Gran Pulsian native had barely managed to slip it on when they heard commotion pass by outside the cargo bay. A slow hum began to resonate throughout the ship which Lightning registered as it preparing for launch. Lightning checked Fang's Sanctum outfit to make sure everything was in place. She nodded in confirmation.

"Acceptable. With the number of soldier sent down here and having the Palamecians on board, we shouldn't draw too much attention to ourselves." She paused before turning towards the cargo bay doors, "So long as you don't speak."

"So what about the guns all the Sanctum solders seem to have glued to their hands?" Fang mumbled as they exited into a corridor—empty for now, "So y'know, I can accidentally leave the safety off and maybe test just how protective the Sanctum's uniform is."

"Guns take a little more than just swinging and stabbing." Lightning muttered as they head down the hall quickly but cautiously, "Besides, children shouldn't play with guns." The snort Fang made came through her helmet to make an even stranger sound.

"Oh, is that why the Palamecians never seem to have any on them?" Lightning could have laughed in spite of herself if not for at that second, a voice called down the hall they'd just turning into.

"You two!" The both of them froze, noticing another soldier walking toward them, though unarmed, "What are you to doing? We're taking off." He stopped in front of them, "The Pallies have either royally screwed up or are homesick and miss their fancy castle of theirs." He paused to look between them then past them toward the cargo bay, "What were you two doing?"

"Securing the cargo sir." Lightning replied almost automatically, "It was a mess in there." The soldier looked between them once more before sighing.

"We did leave a mess in there the other night, didn't we." He shook his head, "We weren't even allowed into the city to participate in the damn festival. Had to make our own fun—and you'd think a ship like this would have booze somewhere on it."

Lightning and Fang looked toward each other briefly. The soldier merely waved a hand dismissively.

"Whatever, if the bay is secure get down to the hold, knowing the Pallies, I wouldn't put it past them to want to pilot the damn shuttle themselves." With another sigh he gave a casual salute before continuing down the hall.

Neither Lightning nor Fang could tell which of them let out the loud sigh once the soldier had disappeared from view. It very well may have been the both of them.

"Sanctum," Lightning mumbled, continuing on with but a glance toward Fang, "Charming as ever."

The both of them traveled down a set of stairs into the hold where most of the soldiers were preparing for the trip back; stowing their weapons, packing other pieces of cargo, strapping themselves into the seats. To Lightning's relief, the hold had at least two dozen seats so having a couple more occupied than when they'd arrived wouldn't likely be noticed. Even as they walked through the hold they were barely given a second glance. Some were murmuring about the trip being pointless or the scorning the Palamecians—most doing both.

Lightning stopped at a few seats nearer to the back of the hold where the ramp led down and outside to the ground. She motioned for Fang to sit while she stowed the pack of their clothes into a storage locker above. Fang sat, slightly awkwardly since she was busy eying each and every soldier. Before Lightning could snap her out of it she noticed the older soldiers grow quiet and still. And even through her Sanctum suit, she felt a strange chill hit her from the back.

Turning, she watched as four Palamecian Knights strode up the ramp into the hold. She swallowed thickly. She'd been a Palamecian Knight herself, since before she could remember. Had she really be out of touch for so long that merely seeing what she used to be could shake her so? She knew the Palamecians had a certain aura about them which effected people visibly—and that was only partly because of their use of CrysGen energy. But she never imagined it would be so.. ominous being in the presence of a Knight. Perhaps it was just that she'd never found herself on that side of the fence before.

"What's the matter?" A Sanctum soldier broke the deafening silence, "Homesick already?" the Palamecians, for the most part, ignored him. They strode right past all the soldiers with barely a glance. While it could be seen as being the 'mature' thing to do—it was visible that it only managed to irk the Sanctum soldiers more. The last knight however, paused at the soldier who'd spoken up.

"The Palamecians thank you for your patience, and for doing what the Sanctum does best…" The both of them stared at one another for what seemed like an hour. Eventually the Sanctum soldier took a half step back, "Sitting quietly like good children why we clean up your mess."

"Wha'd you just sa-?!" The soldier roared, the sound echoing through the hold as he lunged at the knight. The Palamecian merely turned, holding a hand out and catching the soldier's fist. There was a small but significant crack as the soldier's cries of anger turned to yelps of pain. Within a flash, half the Sanctum soldiers had their weapons drawn on the Palamecian, whose armor immediately flickered on around him.

"I'd put those down before you hurt yourselves…" The knight warned. His voice even colder than before. The soldier in his grasp was now just whimpering, his free hand trying to pry the other out of the Palamecian's grasp.

"You Pallies think you're so damn superior because of your CrysGen toys." Another soldier continued to provoke, stepping forward with his rifle drawn, "But what do you really do for Cocoon? Huh?"

"We guard its Primarch-"

"You guard a little boy that's nothing more than a puppet for your Knight-Commander." The soldier spat, spite coating his tone.

"I would advise you to refrain from speaking ill of the Knight-Commander."

"Everyone knows it." The soldier chose to disregard the warning, "Zaidl may as well be the Primarch. He loves power enough-" Suddenly there was a loud whipping sound as a flash of light cut the soldier off. In the span of a second, the Palamecian had released an energy whip-like form from the gauntlet on his free hand, the other end wrapped around the soldier's gun.

"You were warned." Was all the knight said before yanking his arm back. The soldier was yanked forward, almost off his feet. His hands still gripped the gun as the energy line went slack for a moment until the knight once again, threw his hand upward this time. The gun was whipped upwards, catching the soldier square in the jaw with a sickening crack.

"Mother fu-!" As the gun flew out of the soldier's hands, it whipped around to knock another soldier in the side. Two soldiers farther into the hold took a few calculated shots at the knight. The first few rounds were absorbed into the CrysGen armor, the next three hit the first soldier in the chest, the Palamecian having spun him around to use as a shield. The soldier's armor protected him for the most part, but it was visible he was in pain.

Lightning took a few steps back, watching as another few soldiers prepared to fire on the knight. She didn't know what was more unbelievable; the fact that the Sanctum decided to start a fire-fight in the hold of a shuttle, or that the Palamecians were so quick to initiate actual combat. The Palamecian had now incapacitated four Sanctum soldiers and she knew he would not stop until they were no longer a threat—the chance of which, was lowering by the second.

Fang, who'd moved from her seat to avoid being shoved aside by angry soldiers, stumbled slightly. Obviously the least aware of the current situation, she wasn't quick enough to regain her senses before she was knocked again, this time further into the fray—further towards the Palamecian. Lightning moved before she knew exactly what she was doing. The Palamecian turned, most likely under the impression a Sanctum soldier moving towards him with the intent to attack, and lashed out towards Fang.

While she was no longer a knight, Lightning's speed was still far beyond average and she'd had experience with the Palamecian weaponry so she was familiar with how it moved. She grabbed Fang by the shoulder, spun her around to shield her while making a perfectly timed dodge, catching the energy whip in her hand. While the whip was meant for restraining more than offense, it felt like it burned and her hand would definitely be feeling it once she took off the armored glove but she kept her grip, staring the Palamecian down—as best she could through her helmet anyway.

The maneuver halted everything at once. Lightning realized and cursed at herself. She'd planned to keep a low a profile as possible but her body seemed to act on its own. It moved in reaction to the possibility of harm coming to Fang. This alone was enough to distract her from the pain in the hand gripping the energy whip.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" A booming voice rang out over the intercom. Everyone—even the Palamecians—seemed to jump at the sound, "Get your acts together. And get your asses in your seats before I take off with the damn door open!" There was a brief roar of the engines as a secondary warning, "I will NOT say it again!"

Slowly but surely, the Sanctum soldiers backed down—of course after the Palamecian released the soldier still in his grasp. Two others helped him into his seat. He looked too worn out to resist. It was only until most of the soldiers had strapped themselves in that Lightning realized she still had the end of the energy whip in her hand. She immediately let it go, backing away, keeping herself between the knight and Fang. She noticed the quick glances toward her by the first three knights before they continued up the stairs onto the main deck.

"Nice catch." The Palamecian retracting his whip and powering down his armor said, barely audible over the increasing hum of the shuttle's engines. But Lightning heard him loud and clear—right down to the curious tone in his voice. She tore her gaze away from him, nudging Fang back into a seat.

"Can't say I expected that..." She heard Fang say quietly.

"Relations between Sanctum and Palamecia are similar to Oerbans and Taejin at best—I'm surprised it's so much worse in such a short time." Lightning mumbled, half in response, half thinking aloud.

"Wasn't talking about them." Lightning pretended not to hear as she felt the slightly tilt of the shuttle lift up off the ground.

The flight wasn't long. It was probably ten minutes give or take—and was only longer than five because of the shuttle's size. There were windows in the hull but one would have to be standing to look through them. And any obvious attention to the view outside might cause suspicion. After all, nobody on board would be overly excited to see the place they'd left barely a day and a half ago. Lightning shut out the strange sort of excitement in her chest as she vaguely registered the voice on the intercom stating that they would reach dock in less than a minute.

When the shuttle finally arrived at a complete stop, the Sanctum soldiers were practically scrambling to leave it. Lightning and Fang were in silent agreement that it was best they do the same. Lightning grabbed the bag of their clothes and the two of them quickly made their way down the ramp onto the docking area.

Lightning silently cursed. The shuttle had dropped them off at a civilian port—at least twenty minutes away from Sanctum HQ and across the sprawling city from Palamecia. She'd been hoping they'd land within headquarters so they wouldn't have to worry about sneaking in. But alas, nothing's ever easy is it? She pulled Fang off to the side and pretended to be checking something in the pack.

"So now what?" Fang asked, "You have a fancy machine someplace you can use to do those scans?"

"Nothing that isn't either Sanctum or Palamecian has the tech and/or power to make scans like the ones we need."

"So you're saying we gotta go to wherever you Palamecians hang out?"

"Palamecia." Lightning corrected on reflex, "And no, there's no way we're getting anywhere near Palamecia unnoticed." She stated it as if it were common knowledge to more than just citizens of Cocoon, "No, our best chance is Sanctum HQ. Their tech is second to the Palamecians but they have a lot of it. There's a better chance for us to use it without being detected."

"I thought you said the Sanctum had like… a third of the population in their ranks." Fang recalled, "And you're talking about walking into a nest of 'em?"

"I also mentioned their numbers are as much our advantage as disadvantage." Lightning began formulating the fasted way to their destination, "They didn't notice two extra soldiers on their shuttle. It's even less likely they'd notice in a place infinitely times large and more densely populated."

"Still, I'm not stupid," Fang said with a click of her tongue, "Advantage or disadvantage, we can't just waltz right in there…"

"You learn fast." Lightning muttered distractedly, still formulating.

"-think about it, you know the Knight-Commander expects results as soon as possible." The four Palamecians had exited the shuttle and were discussing their own next course of action.

"The Knight-Commander is busy with the negotiation which—let's face it—are most likely beyond salvageable."

"We could use Sanctum's scanners." Three knights turned to the last as if he'd said something terrible about the Primarch, "The Knight-Commander just wants quick scan of Paddra right? The Sanctum's equipment should be fine for such, no?"

"Is dealing with the Sanctum really worth it at this point?"

"We don't have a choice, we have our orders from the Knight-Commander, and his orders were as soon as we reached Cocoon." The tallest of the knights motioned to two of the others, "You two head back to Palamecia, we'll request to use the Sanctum's scanners for the Knight-Commander's scan."

"You." The knight that had lashed out towards the Sanctum soldiers on the ship called out. It took a moment for Lightning to register he seemed to be looking in her and Fang's direction. She didn't respond but held her ground as he walked over, "I realize this might be brash of me to ask but my fellow knight and I were wondering whether it were possible for us to use one of the Sanctum's Pulse scanners for a short scan and the request of our Knight-Commander.

Lightning didn't reply immediately. She didn't know why he was asking her—there were plenty of other Sanctum soldiers around obviously heading back to headquarters. She swallowed, clearing her throat.

"We'd have to clear it, you'd have to get the proper authorization-"

"That is acceptable, is it possible you could escort us there? We would be guests, after all. To show up seemingly uninvited would be… tactless." Lightning's distaste for this particular knight was growing, fast. Though he spoke eloquently, he did so with with confidence—too much confidence. So much confidence it could pass as arrogance. That and his actions aboard the shuttle. Lightning couldn't help but judge him—be it unfair or not—as unfitting of the title of Palamecian knight.

"If you believe you'll be able to obtain the proper authorization." She stated with a nod.

"Thank you." He bowed slightly before motioning towards the others, "Allow me to inform my fellow knights." Fang pulled Lightning to the side as he returned to the other three.

"What are you doing?!"

"You said it yourself, we can't merely waltz into Sanctum HQ." Lightning answered, keeping her eye in the Knight. It looked as though the group of Palamecians were splitting up. She watched as two of them broke away and began heading away from the shuttle.

"So what, you think bringing in two Palamecians will make it any less conspicuous?" Fang tugged on Lightning's arm, "Were you not paying attention to what just happened on the shuttle?!"

"Don't worry-"

"Don't worry?!" Fang tugged harder, this time the pinkette turned towards her, "I know you're probably feeling a little be of the 'home-sweet-home' right now but let's not forget _I'm_ not meant to be here." Fang gave Lightning's arm another squeeze, "You may not be a Palamecian anymore but you get caught, you're from Cocoon. I get caught and they'll kill me-" The last phrase seemed to fully grab the pinkette's attention. And Fang found her own wrist encircled by the pinkette's hand.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Fang's grip on Lightning loosened allowing for her to pull free as the two Palamecians walked over. The Oerban barely noticed them, her mind reeling from the rushed yet firm statement that conveyed nothing but truth. As if noticing her distraction, Fang could've sworn she felt Lightning squeeze her wrist before letting it drop, "Trust me." The pinkette stepped away as the two knights reached them. If Fang were focused on anything but the last few seconds, she had seen the Palamecians motion for them to lead the way and Lightning giving a nod before moving off.

For reasons other than hiding her identity, Fang was beyond thankful she'd put on the damn Sanctum helmet. Though she had let go and was walking away, Fang still felt the pinkette's grip around her wrist, still heard her words in her head. Her feet on autopilot, she followed Lightning and the two knights but her mind was somewhere else.

Ever since that stupid artifact had gotten a hold of her—literally—she'd felt her entire world turn inside out. She had lied when she'd told Lightning she didn't know what she'd seen in the short burst of a vision the artifact had scored across her mind. She knew exactly what she saw—it was the believing part she couldn't quite get. A dark night sky stretched out above, accompanied by the sounds of a Gran Pulsian evening. She'd seen and heard them many times before but the setting had been strangely unfamiliar to her. A ruined building wrapped around a giant tree. And then Lightning. Lightning voicing words to her. They were crisp, clear and unforgettable. Words of confession; confession of unfaltering, undying love. These were quickly followed by an inquiry—simple yet inexplicably complicated. The question as to whether or not Fang felt the same.

Or course the vision ended before there was any response. Not hearing any sort of hint to the answer would have been what confused—no, scared—Fang the most; that is, if she hadn't already known what it was. Somewhere, deep in a place she couldn't quite reach yet, she knew that if the vision had lasted but a split second longer, she'd have heard herself say yes.

**Meanwhile, back in Paddra ::.:.**

"Eeeasy there Cain." Vanille soothed the Svarog below her as he let out a frustrated grunt of discomfort, "You know, you're not making this any easier!" She then called, leaning over to the side, "For either of you!" Below the guardian beast, held in one of his claws, was a half caught—half struggling Sulyyan.

"You wanna switch seats?! I'd be happy to oblige-" Aquinas replied, "-Cain, c'mon! You can't ease up a little?!" The Svarog seemed to grunt again in response as they approached the ground—a long side of the temple encircling a decorative pool of water down the middle of it, "...whoa... whoa- Cain, Cain c'mon slow down a little... Vanille! Make him-gah!"

Completing his swoop, ending in glide a mere few feet off the ground, he released Aquinas. She landed on her feet but the momentum sent her rolling—quite unceremoniously—off them. As Cain came to a stop himself, Vanille jumped off just in time to see Aquinas roll right into the water with a moderately audible yelp. She ran past the Svarog towards the edge of the pool. By the time she'd reached it, Aquinas had surfaced and was preparing to pull herself up and out.

"Well, at least he thought to soften the landing with the water." Vanille half-joked, helping the Sulyyan up only to dart away as Aquinas shook most of the excess water off.

"Right... water." Came an unamused response, "Only after reminding me how much I hate flying!." The volume of the statement increased with each word, a piercing glare thrown at Cain—now perched on the railing at the edge of the area. The Svarog either was too busy stretching his wings to hear or chose to ignore her. Vanille had more than a feeling it was probably the latter. She put a hand on Aquinas as the Sulyyan stretched out on her back, her legs still in the water.

"I'm alright..." Aquinas seemed to be mumbling more to assure herself than anything else, "I'm good... the ground broke my fall." Vanille let out a small laugh as she watched Aquinas pull herself fully out of the water, "Y'know... next time... maybe you could give me a little more than _'don't get caught'_, yeah?" Vanille gave her an apologetic smile as the smaller of the two wiped the remaining water off her face, and brushed the random strands of hair that fell across it, "Particularly if you're going to pull a stunt like-" She motioned to Cain, "That."

"Well I'm glad you were ...caught I mean." Vanille joked. Aquinas raised an eyebrow, unamused, "And just whose fault was it you were being chased anyway? Hmm?" Vanille eyed the Sulyyan who shrugged and formed a sheepish grin.

"What? It was pure coincidence that I just happened to overhear part of their conversation—they talk pretty loudly y'know."

"You were clinging to the outside of the temple right next to their balcony." Vanille stated cooly, as if listing off a key piece of evidence in a crime. When Aquinas only smiled wider, Vanille's lips formed a frown, "Forget that you were hanging over a fifty-foot drop, what are you doing provoking the Taejin?" She brushed aside a few strands of hair that fell across the Aquinas' face, "They're dangerous and we have to be cautious around them—even more so now-"

"But why?" Aquinas asked exasperatedly, "Look, as fun as it is, I don't usually turn to clinging on the outside of massive buildings for amusement y'know—nor do I like particularly like playing hide-and-go-run-for-your-life with the Taejin." Vanille opened her mouth to speak but Aquinas wouldn't have it, "You were the ones that decided I couldn't know about whatever deep, dark secret you must have been let in on when the Paddrasean artifact decided to hold hands, okay?" Aquinas huffed, "You aren't the only ones that care about the future of Gran Pulse alright? Just because I'm a Sulyyan doesn't make me any less qualified to take action if my home—my friends—are in danger."

Despite her snarky way of expressing it, Vanille finally realized how hurt, frustrated and scared Aquinas was. It was perfectly understandable; Fang, Aquinas and herself weren't totally strangers to the control and transference of crystal energy—what some people could call magic. She couldn't say much for Lightning, but considering her former ties to the Palamecians it couldn't be a huge stretch to say she'd been exposed to similar situations involving crystal energy. But what had happened at the artifact that morning was beyond anything she'd seen or experienced before. It were as if the crystal had a life of its own and was waiting for the right moment to reach out, grab someone—literally—and give them a message from Etro herself.

She realized she had unconsciously started rubbing her arm where the text from the artifact had coiled itself around. She looked to find Aquinas staring at it.

"What did you see?" The smaller woman asked quietly, as if not really expecting an answer, "What did it show you?" Vanille tilted her head, observing the Sulyyan. It was an interesting choice of words with an almost knowing tone to them—as though she knew what it'd been like. It… concerned her, to say the least.

"It's not something I can-"

"Vanille, Aquinas." A voice startled them both. They looked to see Caius looking down at them from the level just above, looking out on the one were on. They watched as he made his way to the steps to the right, walking—as always—with purpose, towards them.

"Y'know I wouldn't have thought it but you got some perfectly terrible timing." Aquinas mumbled as Vanille got to her feet, the continuation of their conversations obviously cut short.

"Not quite as terrible as your manners, Aquinas." He retorted curtly. Vanille cleared her throat, nudging the Sulyyan with her leg to give her the message to at least try to be civil. The Sulyyan just grumbled before getting up.

"How is Yeul?" Vanille asked quickly before either Gran Pulsian could continue their verbal bout.

"Resting." Caius was obviously not interesting in spending any more time discussing anything with them than was necessary. Vanille would never admit it but the feeling was somewhat mutual. Yeul was a treasured friend but the priestess' guardian always put her on edge—not an easy feat when it came to people. However, Vanille knew Caius cared for Yeul just as much as Fang did for herself so she grew to tolerate him.

"Will she be alright to resume negotiations?" Vanille asked.

"That's what I came to inform you of," Caius continued, "With the priestess still weakened and the investigation into yesterday's incident the negotiations have been pushed to later today—most likely early evening."

"I see." Vanille acknowledged slowly, "How admirable for you to deliver the message personally." She added, obviously hinting at and inquiry as to why he wouldn't have just sent a temple guard. Caius was definitely not the type to play messenger. He seemed to agree as a frown formed on his face.

"The priest found it necessary for me to seek you out personally—with haste."

Vanille's eyes shot up at the explanation. She knew Yeul was powerful and had uncanny insight to most things that were happening not just in Paddra, but anywhere between the four tribes. The people were not wrong to assume she had direct ties to the goddess Etro.

"Though if it were to save the temple's water to remain undisturbed it would seem I am too late." Vanille's focus returned to the Paddrasean who was now sporting a disapproving look, his gaze shifting between a still rather wet Aquinas and the pool of water, "You do realize the pools are not meant for swimming."

"Hello… Sulyyan here…" Aquinas motioned to herself quickly, "Besides, it wasn't exactly voluntary." She cleared her throat. As if hearing, understanding and perfectly fit to argue, Cain—still perched on the out edge of the temple—Let out a small growl. It caught all three of the Gran Pulsians' attention. Vanille rolled her eyes as she turned back to Caius, who met her gaze with a slightly confused expression.

"Where is Fang?" He questioned as suddenly as his expression changed, "And your guest from Cocoon?"

"I sent them on an errand." Vanille answered quickly—hopefully not too quickly. Caius raised an eyebrow in obvious suspicion, "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Of course not." The Paddrasean replied, throwing a glance at Aquinas who looked equally intrigued by Vanille's statement, "However in the event of your guardian's absence, certain actions must be taken." He motioned towards the temple, "If you'll allow me to escort you back to your quarters, I will arrange for a Paddrasean escort to stand in until Fang returns."

Vanille usually would have refused. She never felt the need for a Paddrasean escort to follow her around. It's why she'd refused outright when they offered upon her arrival to Paddra. Besides, usually she had Fang and that was all she needed. However, certain circumstances forced her to reconsider—not so much for her own safety, but for Aquinas'. It was general knowledge that Aquinas, since she travelled alone, unofficially fell under Fang's guardian responsibilities—particularly during diplomatic sessions such as this one. So any escort provided to or denied by Vanille would apply to the Sulyyan as well.

"Of course, that would be much appreciated." Vanille finally replied to Caius, moving to make her way back into the temple. She vaguely registered Aquinas falling in step beside her and Caius following them both a few paces behind.

He most likely had no idea but Caius had once again proven just how mysteriously powerful Paddra's priestess was. Yeul understood Vanille's denial of Paddrasean protection. The Oerban had explained it to her once before and every following visit to Paddra after that, the offer of a Paddrasean escort became a mere formality—and even then, only during important diplomatic situations. Yeul knew Caius would enforce the custom. It must have been the only reason she asked him to find them personally, something Vanille was sure Yeul wouldn't have normally requested. The Priestess' actions hinted to Vanille that she knew she and Aquinas might have needed the protection. Which begged the question: How much more did Yeul know?

"You two." Caius' voice broke through her wall of thought. She noticed they were currently crossing the atrium and the Paddrasean had stopped to address two temple guards standing on either side of the hall that lead to the main entrance of the temple, "The guardian of the Oerban representative is currently… occupied." He chose the word carefully, shooting a glance at Vanille, "You two will be assigned as her escorts until she returns. I will find replacements for your post." The temple guards looked between one another briefly before nodding.

"Thank you, Caius." Vanille said as the two guards walked over and gave a small bow, "You'll let me know once Yeul is able to have visitors won't you?" Caius's jaw visibly clenched at the question.

"Of course—though it was recommended that she rest as much as possible before the negotiations this evening."

"Of course." The conversation was courteous enough but Vanille knew part of it was Caius trying to keep everyone and anyone away from the Priestess. Understandable considering the recent events, but Vanille couldn't help but believe her best chance at getting any sort of answers would be to ask Yeul what she knew. She wouldn't push it though. Aquinas had stirred up enough trouble with the Taejin. She knew they had to be extremely careful from here on out.

With a bow, Caius left to return to his charge. Vanille began to think of an alternate strategy to find out anything that would help the investigation into the Gran Pulsian prophecy. She felt Aquinas' staring into the side of her head. She finally gave the Sulyyan her attention.

"What's with the babysitters?" Aquinas asked as they continued the walk to the Oerbans' room. She motioned to the two guards following just out of earshot, but close enough to where they could easily reach both of them should any trouble arise, "Is Fang really gonna be gone so long you need-"

"They aren't for me." Vanille cut her off, hinting at Aquinas' Taejin problem with a look in her eyes, "And this is not up for discussion." She cut off whatever Aquinas was going to say to protest, "you wanted to be a part of this, fine, but that means I am not letting you out of my sight so long as the Taejin are around."

"Yes, mother." Aquinas still had a spark of defiance in her eyes but knew better than to try and argue with Vanille, particularly when she actually looked angry, "Y'know, I'm not a child-"

"Then stop acting like one." The Oerban this time stopped walking to turn to Aquinas; conveniently right outside the doorway to their destination, "Like it or not I feel responsible for you—both Fang and I do. And we sent you away this morning to protect you." Aquinas swallowed thickly, knowing a lecture was coming but unlike with anyone else, she braced herself seriously for it, "Something that obviously didn't work with your poking and prodding the Taejin. We'd actually planned to avoid them for as long as possible but that's been thrown out the window."

"But they didn't even see you-"

"But they saw you." Vanille wasn't finished, "And now that they have, I cannot leave it alone. You know what the Taejin can do—Lightning is the latest example but not the worse—by far." She pointed Aquinas, "You may be Sulyyan, Aquinas, but your healing powers do not give you the right to be reckless enough to pull a stunt like you did earlier."

At this point, Aquinas stopped trying to argue. And her concern was less about Vanille's anger towards her but the increasing tone of panic in the Oerban's voice. She rarely saw Vanille slip like this. When they were younger, sure, but since Vanille began taking on more responsibilities as head of Oerba, she'd learned how to control her emotions extremely well—something Aquinas still hadn't been sure whether she liked or not. Gently, with a forced smile at the two guards, she pulled Vanille into the room they were staying in and shut the door. Knowing the guards would probably move to stand right outside she led Vanille further into the room and out onto the balcony.

"Okay, you're starting to take the motherly thing a little step too far-" Aquinas said in a concerned voice rather than accusing, "I'm sorry I started trouble with the Taejin, I admit I didn't exactly think it through but you gotta understand I'm just as worried as you here." She motioned between them, "You and I both know keeping things from me certainly isn't going to make things any less dangerous—what happened earlier just proves that."

"You're worse to deal with than Fang, you know that?" Vanille eventually muttered with a sighed, leaning against the stone balcony railing. Aquinas just grinned, relieved she managed to at least keep Vanille from fully panicking.

"You love me for it." The Sulyyan joked, grinning widely.

"I do." The response was quiet, hesitant almost. It threw Aquinas off a little. The Sulyyan immediately looked over at Vanille but if there were anything in her expression that could explain strange behind the odd tone of voice, it was gone and had been replaced by look of deep thought. Aquinas shook off the weird feeling, dropping her gaze down at Vanille's arm. She hesitantly reached for it.

"What did you see?" She decided to divert the subject, "Earlier today… what did the artifact show you?" She could tell Vanille didn't want to answer. The Oerban began to fidget—another habit Aquinas thought she'd broken. She didn't get an answer for what seemed like an hour.

"Pain." Vanille finally spoke, quietly with shakiness in her voice, "Anger… sorrow." She took in a breath, closing her eyes tight, clenching her jaw and balling her hands into fists. Aquinas noticed all these things and her concern multiplied, "So much sorrow." Vanille eyes fluttered open, now filled with an odd kind of fear, "You couldn't know… and I couldn't explain… just how much."

"If you can't," Aquinas reached up to touch Vanille's forehead, "I can just-" Her hand was gripped and pulled away almost the instant her fingers brushed the Oerban's skin.

"No." Vanille's grip was almost tight enough to be painful, "You don't understand, I wouldn't want to explain… I wouldn't want anyone to have to experience those emotions in that much… intensity." Aquinas felt her shudder, she didn't need to use any powers to sense how much fear the vision had instilled in her, "It was Sulyya all over again… but infinitely times worse." To anyone else it may not have meant much but to Aquinas, it was actually an adequate measurement of just how intense Vanille's vision had been. The Sulyyan immediately kicked herself at not noticing earlier. She'd been too wrapped up in her own anger. Too busy acting like a child.

"Sorry." Was all she said as she leaned her forehead against Vanille's in a gesture of comfort. Immediately, to her relief, she felt the Oerban begin to calm down, "I'm sorry you had to see that again." She added quietly. Vanille pulled away to look into Aquinas' eyes.

"The vision it showed me wasn't of Sulyya." She stated, "It couldn't have been."

"Then what was it of?"

"The future."

* * *

**A/N:.**

Not as long as the previous chapter.  
But it's something.

Actually this chapter was getting to be too long so I cut it.  
It just happened to be that the most appropriate place to cut it was a little before the half-way mark would've been.

Meow.


	17. Sanctum

**.:.:: Chapter 16  
.:.:: Sanctum**

* * *

"Our business should be complete shortly." One of the two Palamecian knights addressed Fang and Lightning. The other knight was busy working half on the main console in the room and half on a screen he'd produced using his CrystoGen gauntlet. Lightning guessed he was either copying whatever data he was finding or using the gauntlet to boost the scans effectiveness—possibly both.

"So how did you two end up as an escort for the Palamecian Knight-Commander?" The Palamecian caught Lightning's attention again, "Do you share the… distaste for us as your comrades do?" Lightning decided to remain silent and was relieved that Fang had decided to follow her lead. The knight gave a small smirk, "I'll take that as a yes."

Lightning didn't know what it was but something about the knight continuously ground her nerves. Like an itch she couldn't scratch, he irked her.

"Tell me, have they changed something in the Sanctum's training regiment recently?" His voice was like when a bug wouldn't move from right beside her ear. All she could think about was swatting him away… with the pack still slung over her shoulder, "I was surprised you were able to pull a maneuver like you did aboard the shuttle earlier. Very impressive." Lightning was glad for the helmet—It hid her scowl, "I wasn't aware any Sanctum soldier could move that fast."

"I wasn't aware Palamecians talked so much to anyone but themselves." She was surprised at how little effort it took to sound like a typical Sanctum soldier, utterly spiteful towards a Palamecian Knight. But for Lightning it wasn't his title nor rank that irritated her, it was his personality. The knight's smirk only grew, in turn, so did her urge to bury her fist in his face.

"We don't." Came the statement in a tone Lightning couldn't read. All she knew was that she didn't like it.

"We're done here." The other knight spoke up, powering down the station he was working at. With one last review of whatever he'd saved on his gauntlet, he powered it down as well and moved towards them.

"Well then, we'd best take our leave." The first knight gave a small bow before stepping out of the room. The other knight mimicked the gesture and followed suit. Lightning clenched her jaw as she stepped out after them. As she did so she turned to Fang.

"Stay here, don't go anywhere, don't touch anything and don't do anything stupid." Fang clicked her tongue but forced herself to remain silent as the pinkette stepped out into the hall in order to follow procedure and lead the Palamecians back to the entrance.

Left alone, Fang surveyed the room. It was windowless and wasn't extremely large; ten by twelve feet she guessed roughly. In the middle of it stood the single console—a short, thick pillar jutting up from the floor. As the Palamecian had demonstrated in using it, it brought up additional controls upon activation, along with the activation of different screens along one of the walls.

The room and console—like everything else she'd seen walking through Sanctum headquarters seemed extremely foreign to her. Granted it was natural, her being from an entirely different world but for some reason it seemed more so than she'd have thought. It was more than just feeling out of place in Sanctum HQ. Fang couldn't explain it but something about the building and the technology it house gave her a bad feeling, a gut feeling that told her she shouldn't be there and should get out as soon as she could.

She was knocked out of her thoughts as the door opened. She hadn't thought that much time had gone past but when she turned, she found herself staring at another Sanctum soldier, without armor, carrying a clipboard. Confusion crossed his face as he noticed her. Fang swore.

"What are you doing in here?" He stepped towards her. Her mind suddenly became blank. She hadn't actually thought of what'd she do if anyone other than Lightning returned to the room, "Did you hear me soldier? This room is being used for a series of scans for the science division—more importantly it's restricted to those-"

He didn't finish. Fang acted on impulse. She pulled back and delivered a firm and calculated punch to just below his chest. It knocked the wind out of him. She then grabbed one of his arms, whirled him around and covered his mouth. He attempted to struggle but it was more to get air into his lungs than it was to free himself from her grip. With her free hand, Fang—hoping she got it right despite lack of practice—performed a move taught to her by the Sulyyans. Jabbing three fingers into the right side of his neck, then again twice near the back, just right of his spine, she felt him go slack almost immediately.

She adjusted her position so she could check his breathing. It was weak but it was there. She dragged him to the side of the room. There weren't exactly many options for her to hide him if anyone else were to enter the room so she leaned him against the wall near the door. Collapsing against the adjacent wall and sliding to the floor, she slipped off the helmet and took a few deep breaths.

What the hell was she doing? What the hell was she doing _here_? Following Vanille's orders, a voice in her head responded. As her breathing slowed, her focus slowly began to build up again. No, that was only part of it. The vision had let loose a torrential flood of feelings and questions regarding a certain pinkette. Who was she? Why, when they'd never met before, did she feel she had some sort of hidden connection with her? Was the Lightning in her vision the same one she'd found washed up on the river near Oerba? If so, why did they seem like completely different people? And why only now did she realize the uneasy feeling she had around the pinkette was a fluttering in her stomach-

The door slid open again, forcing Fang from her thoughts. She jumped up, reflexes preparing her to defend herself. The first thing she saw was a Sanctum uniform—this time armored. Her body still acting on reflex, she lunged forward to grab. The soldier deftly evaded her first attempt and grabbed her other hand during her second. She went to whirl the soldier around but-

"Fang! It's me!" The soldier hissed, grabbing her shoulder. She tried to jerk away but the grip remained firm, "Fang! Calm down!" As the soldier pulled off the helmet, the piercing, cerulean eyes held Fang more effectively than the hold on her shoulder. Fang blinked a few times before slowly allowing herself to relax.

"What's the matter with you?" Genuine concern filled Lightning's eyes, "Why is your helmet off?" Fang was had recovered from the initial shock of the encounter but was now frozen due to the proximity of the pinkette, "Fang…" Lightning's voice focused her attention slightly, "What is that…?"

"What?" The Oerban replied, registering the last question but answering it dazed.

"The Sanctum soldier unconscious in the corner." Lightning released her hold on the Oerban and moved over to check him.

"Oh… him." Fang turned to look over at the poor sod, "He… caught me off guard." The Oerban admit before she could stop herself. Lightning turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"_He_ caught_ you_ off guard?" Fang just shrugged, unable to immediately form a response, "I leave you alone for five minutes-"

"Exactly!" Fang interrupted, almost in a yell, "You left me alone!" The emotion behind the accusation shocked Lightning, "Look, what was I supposed to do?" Fang snapped, "You said stay put I did! I'm a mouse trapped in a cage full of vipers and you're asking me to sit and wait for them to catch me!" The Oerban stopped, as if finally realizing she was panicking—audibly. She swallowed the large lump in her throat and took a few more deep breaths.

Lightning personally wasn't sure how to react. Even in the short week and a half she'd spent around the Oerban, she knew Fang had started acting a little unusual. Most of it could be explained by their current location—which was perfectly understandable to Lightning. She'd likely felt similar when she first arrive on Gran Pulse. But there was something bothering Fang that went beyond them being on Cocoon and in Sanctum headquarters. And Lightning didn't have to think very hard to realize it started just after the incident with the Paddrasean artifact.

"Look, could we just…" Fang motioned to the console in the center of the room, "…get this over with?" The Oerban grumbled, moving to grab the helmet she discarded. She forced her mind to stop racing and her nerves to calm down. She needed to keep it together.

She leaned against the wall, watching as Lightning moved to stand behind the console. The pinkette activated it, the multiple screens on the wall facing her flickered to life, displaying various locales of Gran Pulse. On the right, there were a few that she assumed were overhead views of certain areas. A few seconds of Lightning working at the console, bright blue lights began appearing on them. Most were barely noticeable against the already glowing display of the land but as time passed, a few areas grew brighter.

"Those are all crystals?" Fang found herself walking around Lightning to view the screens from next to her.

"Just the ones on the surface." Lightning explained, distracted by her work at the console, "We're looking for ones with more density, more power." With a few more adjustments, the screens flipped to a green color and a different set of markers appeared, "Crystals that aren't likely to be on the surface, but below ground—the older ones." Fang watched as the feeds on the left switched from generic landscapes to images of Paddra, "There's the Paddrasean artifact." Lightning pointed out, motioning with her chin to the scans on the right. The displays were now purple, a bright marker spanned almost half of the city. Fang assumed with each new color, Lightning was scanning for crystals of different level of energy, with different levels of power.

The Oerban suddenly recognized images of her home. Lightning had moved on to Oerba, scanning the village, the lake and nearby areas. Unlike Paddra, the markers indicated what Vanille had mentioned earlier. There were a few scattered clusters throughout the village, a few more in the lake—though considering the screens had referred back to a blue glow, none of the crystal readings were anywhere near as powerful as the artifact in Paddra.

"Let's see, Sulyya Springs should be around…" Fang looked over to see Lightning mumbling to herself. It was somewhat unexpected but undeniably cute. Cute? Fang turned her eyes away, as if doing so would help her forget the last thought, "…here." Lightning brought up feeds of the mountains above and around the Springs. Fang noticed nothing at first but when the scans turned green, she saw a few scattered points indicating crystals within the mountains.

Eventually, Lightning upped the scans' intensity. As the screen switched to purple, the number of markers more than doubled. Fang's eyebrows shot up, despite the face that if she really thought about it, it made sense. Lightning seemed to pause for a moment as well, obviously intrigued by the number of crystals with readings that matched Paddra's artifact. They were nowhere near as large but there were many that supposedly were just as powerful.

"The average energy levels around Sulyya Springs are greater than even Paddra..." Lightning noted, referring to a display higher up on the right should a series of bars indicating power levels. Though Fang had no idea how to read it, even she could tell that the movement of the bars reflected Lightning's statement. It then registered for her how interested Lightning seemed in Sulyya—more accurately, Sulyya's crystals. Her jaw clenched, she'd seen what that kind of interest could do and immediately felt the need to stop Lightning's scans.

"None of the dots are as big as the one in Paddra though." Fang decided to try subtle. It wasn't her style but something told her it'd work better for Lightning, "I thought we were looking for something big?"

"We are…" Lightning agreed, however her focus remained on the springs. Fang swallowed thickly as the pinkette continued to adjust the scanning parameters, "..maybe if I…" Fang had no idea what Lightning was doing but when the screens' readings turned from purple to red, something told her it wasn't exactly standard procedure. The screens, on both sides, also began to flicker in an out. Indicators on the console she was working on also began to flash what Fang was more than sure, were warnings. Lightning's click of her tongue brought Fang's attention back to her.

"I should have known the Sanctum's equipment wouldn't be able to pick up anything stronger without it messing with the readings." The increase of flickering in the screens told Fang that the pinkette was pushing the scanner to its limit.

"Lightning?"

"Just a little more." The pinkette muttered, her fingers working twice as fast with the console she was using. Fang noticed on one of the flickering screens on the right, a larger mark was beginning to form, "Do you see it?" She clenched her jaw again.

"I don't know, it doesn't exactly look very stable-"

"There's _something_ there." Lightning urged, More or less all the lights on the console were now flashing orange and red. Fang opened her mouth and reached for Lightning to stop her but before she could, there was a long hum before a loud crack. The two of them watched as the screens blacked out, the lights on the console following soon after. The two of them stood, unmoving for a long while.

"What… was that?" Fang looked around cautiously, as if moving too much would make whatever just happened, worse, "Did you break it?" Sighing, the pinkette tapped a few of the keys on the console. Nothing happened immediately but a large, red warning symbol flickered in front of them.

"System overload. I expected it to happen." Lightning explained, "It's resetting but it'll take a minute." Fang nodded, sensing the pinkette's disappointment at the interruption but secretly relieved that the scanner hadn't completely processed whatever it was picking up in Sulyya.

"What makes you so sure the artifacts are in or around the tribes?" Fang asked, partly out of curiosity, partly out of an attempt to distract the pinkette from her last location, "I mean, Gran Pulse is a big place."

"I just… know." Lightning seemed to struggle with her answer. Fang merely quirked an eyebrow.

"You just know." She echoed. Lightning sighed heavily, running her fingertips along the console in front of her, "Care to share with the ones that don't-"

"The Paddrasean artifact told me." Lightning added quickly, "In the vision, I saw at least one of the keys—a crystal." Fang swallowed another lump, "More like I felt it... it's hard to explain."

"So… we're going off a feeling…" Fang let slip before she could help herself. Lightning flashed a glare in her direction.

"You wanna tell me what_ you_ saw and we can follow that lead?" The demand was more to lash back than an actual request for Fang's recollection of her own vision but Fang found herself freeze at the question. Snippets flashed behind her eyes as Cerulean stared her down. She looked away, the torrent of emotion the vision invoked crashing against her once more. Lightning hadn't expected that particular reaction to her question. She almost felt as though she said something she shouldn't have. She shook it off when the console in front of her hummed to life once more.

The screens in front of her flickered back on. Most showing messages of the errors that had occurred just before the system restarted. She allowed for a few other checks before she began to prepare to continue scanning the surface of Gran Pulse. As much as she wished to, she knew forcing another scan like the one prior to the crash was risky. She had little doubt equipment malfunctioned or overloaded occasionally—frequently even—but the same device crashing twice in the span for a few minutes might bring up warning flags. She'd been saving all the data she'd found since she began the scan so whatever had shown up, she could review at a later time.

"What the…" As she focused on her current scan results, she immediately re-scanned.

"Is it still broken?" Fang questioned, obviously just as, if not more confused than Lightning was at the current display on the screens.

"That… should be Taejin's Tower." Lightning stated, again, re-scanning the area. Not one crystal marker appeared in or around the tower for at least fifty feet. The screens showed a perfect, circular void of any source of crystal energy. Frowning, Lightning decided to scan for higher density crystals. The screens flipped to green but still nothing. The same, perfect circle of nothing. Again she changed the settings of the scan but the same result stared both her and Fang in the face as the screens turned purple, "Nothing…"

Even Lightning could have understood if there were significantly less than the other areas but there was absolutely nothing. Not a trace of any sort of crystal power. At least the scanners hadn't picked anything up. Taking a calculated risk, she decided to try to force one more scan. The screen flickered red as the warning lights went off once more.

"Uh, Lightning?" Fang questioned, but Lightning barely heard her. She was too busy observing the readings. Still, with the scanners forced to full, scanning with the intensity of the Palamecian's equipment there was nothing, absolutely nothing.

"Light stop-!" Fang reached to touch the console to stop the pinkette—as soon as she did there was a huge burst of static before the console sent out a charge and pulse that sent both of them flying backward. The two of them hit the ground on their backs; both dazed from the shock sent through their bodies. For a while, neither of them moved.

Eventually, Fang groaned and forced herself to sit up. Her body felt stiff, her limbs tingly and a strange stone seemed to have formed deep in her gut. Lightning was struggling to regain her senses herself. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute and her brain felt like it was on the fritz. She couldn't focus for a solid minute or so.

"Did you expect that to happen too?" The Oerban asked as the two of them looked towards the console, now expelling a thin line of smoke from its base.

"Horowitz what the hell are you doing in there?" A voice suddenly rung through whatever intercom system they had in the room, "And why is the comm. screen down?" The two women immediately scrambled to their feet, glancing between themselves and the blackened screens in front of them, "Horowitz! Report!" The voice barked.

"I think that's our cue to leave." Fang whispered. Lightning nodded in agreement, slipping on her helmet and motioning for the Oerban to do the same. The pinkette went over to the console and tapped a few buttons on the side. She then pried a panel off the back before pulling out three small data storage units. Stuffing them in the pack, she replaced the panel and moved toward the door. Before leaving the room however, Fang noticed her move to the unconscious Sanctum soldier. The Oerban hesitated as she watched the pinkette begin dragging the soldier into the middle of the room but eventually decided to help.

"Maybe he shorted out the scanners and shocked himself unconscious." Another voice filtered through the intercom. Fang realized Lightning's intention to make it look like just that had happened.

"Somebody go down there and check on the fool." The first voice ordered. Fang had been right; it was definitely time for them to leave.

After leaving the soldier sprawl just behind the console, the two of them exited the room and moved quickly down the hallway. The level they were on was not busy in any sense but there were a few other soldiers, officers and other staff walking the halls so while they felt fast was better, running wasn't an option. Not to mention the hallways were generally under surveillance.

Turning the last corner into the hall that lead out into the main reception area, Fang somewhat crashed into Lightning as the other woman seemed to stop short in her tracks. She immediately looked down each hall that led to the intersection but other than the occasional officer walking with their nose in a datapad, nothing seemed to indicate anyone was looking for or pursuing them. She turned to Lightning but before she could ask what was up, the pinkette started moving again, this time at a brisker pace.

The Oerban couldn't do much but follow but when the pinkette seemed to dart down around another corner that led away from their exit, she couldn't contain the curiosity or concern. She reached to grab Lightning's arm.

"Where are you going? The exit's this way-"

"I thought I just saw…" Lightning began, stopped with Fang's grasp but her eyes never left the end of the hall. Fang followed the pinkette's gaze but saw nothing. She looked back at Lightning, giving her arm a gentle but firm squeeze.

"Light?" Lightning turned back to the Oerban. Her tone of voice conveyed what the helmet masked. Lightning was well aware that every minute they remained in the building, their chances of being found out increased exponentially. But she couldn't ignore what she'd just seen, "Light what is it?" Lightning couldn't answer Fang. She wasn't sure see'd actually seen it. Turning her eyes back down the hall however, it confirmed that she had.

Standing as though waiting for her, hands behind her back, a small smile on her face, stood a girl that looked exactly like her—albeit a few years younger. She was dressed in a white top over a red and black skirt; light, high-top boots on her feet and her similarly pink hair falling over her left shoulder.

"Light, what are you... looking..." She heard Fang's attempt to figure out what was going on but when it cut off she threw a glance toward her, "…at." Fang's eyes were transfixed in the same way she was sure hers were, moments ago. She saw it too? Lightning checked to see the girl was still there, still standing as if waiting patiently for them to follow, "Who-"

"Serah." Lightning breathed as the girl slowly turned and began walking down an adjacent hall, out of sight. The name was the first that popped into her mind but while completely clueless as to why it was that particular name, it was eerily familiar. Lightning didn't hesitate. She darted down the hall after the girl.

"Wait- Light-!" She vaguely heard Fang call before there was a few muttered curses as Fang's footsteps quickened to catch up and match her own. Both of them reached the corner only to see the girl dart into another room with only a glance to her side toward them. Upon reached the door, Lightning found it unlocked, leading to a dimly-lit staircase. Staircases were rarely used—usually only taken advantage of during certain emergencies such as power outages. Leaning out slightly over the railing, Lightning didn't see nor hear any movement or any footsteps. She judged by Fang's silence that the Oerban was listening for the same thing and wasn't hearing any more than she was.

Then there was the soft but distinct sound of a door sliding open from below. The both of them peered down to see a bar of light flash across the gap between the staircases. Lightning noticed the light seemed to hit solid ground so the door had to have been on the bottom most floor. She didn't hesitate before quickly making her way down the steps. It was at least five flights down though she noticed that the last three flights had no doors out into hallways similar to the one they'd entered through.

As they reached the last set of stairs, they slowed to a stop when they were met with a solid wall. There were a few old storage containers and a couple of rusty lockers that looked like it'd been a decade since they'd seen the light of day. But no door. The Sanctum helmets had automatically switched to night vision at the fourth floor down due to the lack of light but it didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary.

Lightning stepped closer to the discarded storage containers. She ran a finger across the edge of one. The clear line her finger left and the thick collection of dust on her finger suggest none of the things stuffed at the bottom of the staircase had been moved recently. The dust-coated ground revealed no footprints other than her own. She frowned, struggling to convince herself she wasn't going crazy. She couldn't be. Fang had seen the girl too …hadn't she?

"You saw her too, right?" Lightning asked, her bafflement of the situation winning over her refusal to ask what she thought was a stupid question at this point.

"No, Light, I enjoy playing soldier and chasing you around in the dark." Fang replied, sarcasm coating her voice as thickly as the dust covered the surrounding area, "And just who were you chasing… Serah? Who is Serah, Light? Hmm?"

"I don't know." Lightning answered after a moment pause. A loud bang of metal crashing together from the Oerban kicking it with her boot in frustration made her jump.

"Damnit Light!" Fang began to pace, "Y'know the phrase _'I don't know' _doesn't get any more comforting with each time you repeat it." Lightning didn't respond. She couldn't. She was never one to fill silence with useless babble. And even if she could, she honestly wouldn't know what to say. She couldn't explain what had compelled her to chase the girl, or how she knew her name. Her gaze dropped to the ground, Fang's pacing doing little to help her organize her thoughts. Said thoughts were pushed aside suddenly when she noticed something near the disturbed dust where the Oerban had been walking back and forth.

Kneeling down to take a better look, she brushed aside more of the dust in order to get a clearer look. A thin crack in the ground ran out from under one of the storage crates. Running her finger along it, she hit a corner and traced it around and across the floor until she hit one of the lockers. As she repeated the action once more, she noticed a faint glow appear along the lines. The helmet's night-vision was picking up light.

"Fang, help me move these." Lightning directed, bracing the sides of the nearest container. She began pushing but despite being most likely long forgotten, the crates seemed occupied—with something heavy. The pinkette noticed Fang standing watching her—no doubt with a befuddle look on her face. Lightning sighed and motioned to the container, "It's either this or more _'I don't know'_, take your pick." After a second Fang just grumbled before kneeling down on the opposite side.

The two of them pushed, their combined strength faring better with the heavy crate. They slid it along the ground towards the stairs, away from the other clutter. After a few feet, Lightning stopped pushing and went back to examining the crack in the ground. AS she'd expected it circled round, the other end of it also reaching the lockers against the wall. By then, Fang had noticed it too and was tracing line with her own finger. As she reached the locker, she looked over at Lightning. In silence agreement they nodded and stood, grabbing either side of the storage locker, preparing to move it.

"Ready?" Fang warned.

"Go." On Lightning's cue the both of them slid the locker towards the crate they'd moved just before. After doing so and returning to the wall, they saw the 'cracks' formed a definite, distinct square. Brushing aside more dust, Lightning felt her fingers hit something near one of the edges. Hooking her finger under what seemed like a small latch, she pulled. At first, nothing happened but after a few more tugs there was a sudden hiss as the square area of floor flipped up. With a brief look toward Fang, Lightning pulled the trap door fully open before peering down into the area where it led to. It wasn't much brighter but there was definitely light.

"Y'know, I'd ask what was down there but something tells me the answer would be another _'I don't Kno_-"

"It's a utility tunnel." Lightning interrupted, "Judging from the piping running along the sides."

"And do you Vipers always climb into utility tunnels using trapdoors hidden under decades-old storage crates and lockers?" Fang muttered, taking a look through the opening, herself.

"I've never spent more than a few hours in Sanctum Headquarters but I'm quite positive this isn't exactly standard Sanctum design." The pinkette scanned the area of the passage she could see once more before moving and dropping down through the opening. Fang watched as she looked both ways down the passage before motioning for the Oerban to follow.

"Well, so long as you're quite positive…" Fang mumbled, not really having much choice but to comply. She lowered herself down, grabbing the trapdoor with one hand and pulling it back over the opening as she dropped down next to Lightning, "Are you quite positive that's a good idea?" She motioned to the pinkette who had reached up to take off her helmet.

"At this point if we're caught, it won't matter whether or not they see our faces." Lightning explained, placing the helmet on a large pipe running along the wall, "From what I know, the utility tunnels are more or less off-limits to anyone but engineers or maintenance teams." Fang also slipped off her own helmet, putting it next to the pinkette's, "And even then, most of the tunnels are left to the maintenance bots." Fang noticed Lightning motion down a direction. She looked to see a small, hovering robot hooked against one of the pipes, doing some form of work on it. The whirring it was making blended it with the soft sound of hissing steam and dripping water. With her helmet off, Fang began to notice how strangely humid it was in the new area. The floor under their feet seemed to have a thin layer of moisture.

"Well, shall we ask the little guy for directions? Because I don't see our other friend anywh-" She was cut off when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Down the hall in the opposite direction of the maintenance bot, the girl they'd been chasing before seemed to be walking away from them, "Hey!" The Oerban called, directing Lightning's attention to her, "You wanna hold up so we could have a proper conversation?" The question was ignored, though the girl did turn to look over her shoulder as she darted left at an intersection. Fang let out a heavy sigh as Lightning started moving in that direction. She followed, accepting the fact that they probably weren't going to stop until they caught her. However, when the both of them went to turn left where the girl had, they ended up face to face with yet another wall.

"Okay, have you people figured out some crazy way of walking through walls or something?!" Fang groaned, throwing her hands up in defeat. Lightning was already scanning the ground at their feet for evidence of the possibility of another trapdoor. There was none. She searched the wall, it looked completely solid and there didn't seem to be anything different in that particular section than the rest of the wall. Yet something about that particular section felt odd—as in physically felt strange. Lightning slipped off a glove and touched her bare fingers to it. The wall was cold and completely dry, despite looking damp. Running her fingers against it, it seemed too smooth for what it looked like as well.

"It can't be…" She mumbled, as she took a step back.

"What?"

"This wall isn't real." The pinkette stated, "It's a camouflaged barrier." She proceeded to shake her head as she turned to Fang, "But the only thing I know of that could make this kind of barrier is…" She trailed off when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Fang, who was currently holding her gaze, had a look that she'd realized the same. The two of them turned down the hall running away from the barrier. Both of them caught about a two second glimpse at what looked like the girl—Serah—running directly at them. Lightning, acting on reflex, stepped back to dodge but Fang didn't react fast enough. Lightning watched at the two collided—or at least should have. Instead, Fang put out an arm to brace herself but as Serah ought to have made contact, she seemed to flicker in an out before passing through Fang and disappearing. And while this obviously meant Serah was not a corporeal being, Fang seemed to be pushed back by something.

"Fang-?!" Lightning the Oerban's eyes shut tight as she appeared to lose her footing, stumbling—falling almost—backwards.

_.:.::_

_Why was it so hard to breathe? Why did it feel like she'd just outrun the end of the world?_

"_'I loved you." _

_Lightning's eyes bore straight through her own, the truth behind them piercing through to her soul. She what-?_

"_I loved you for a long time, Fang." _

_Loved? Since when? And why? Wait, why was Lightning wearing an eyepatch?_

"_And soon it got to be too much, too hard."_

_::.:._

"FANG!" Fang's eyes shot open again, Lightning was reaching for her as she felt her back hit the wall behind her. The sharp pain in her gut flashed through her once more before suddenly, she was falling backwards again. She reached out to grab one of Lightning's arms but they both ended up toppling over onto the ground, Fang ending up banging her head against it.

Once the stars had stopped circling, she became aware of their current situation. They'd fallen through an opening in the wall; obviously the barrier that'd been blocking it had somehow been disabled. Fang also suddenly noticed their current position. The pinkette was basically sprawled across her, shaking the shock of the fall herself. Fang's gaze was on her fingers, gently touching the area around Lightning's left eye. When her gaze finally shifted, when their eyes eventually met she froze.

_'I loved you'_

The both of them scrambled apart; Lightning to her feet, Fang further backwards along the floor. The Oerban was still having slight trouble breathing. It didn't help when she saw the pinkette's hand reach down in an offer to help her up. Swallowing the lump—the boulder—in her throat, Fang got to her feet herself, brushing herself off.

"Are you alright?" It took every ounce of Fang's mental strength to not immediately look towards Lightning's voice. There was concern but no more than what she'd expect from this Lightning. This Lightning? That Lightning? How the hell could there be two? She shut her eyes tight and took a few deep breaths, "Fang-?"

"I'm fine." The Oerban said—a little too quickly, as if fearing that the pinkette's voice may spark yet another strange vision.

"You don't look-"

"I said I'm fine, Sunshine." Fang's eyes shot open at the use of the nickname—as if it somehow seemed to have new meaning. She dared a glance at the pinkette, who was merely looking at her with a raised eyebrow. The Oerban concluded that she was the only one of the two that had seen the vision. Which made sense considering she had been the one that Serah had run into—through—which had thrown her into...

"What..." Fang began as she finally turned to examine the room she'd fallen into, "...is this place?"

The room was fairly large. Long work benches lined most of the center or it. What looked like miscellaneous measuring instruments and scientific equipment were scattered across each surface leaving little open space. Lightning had already stepped past Fang to investigate, searching for the answer to the question herself. Fang hesitantly followed.

Along the two side walls were rows of glass tanks filled with liquid. Each were about three feet in height and most likely at least one and a half feet in diameter. Most of them had a colored glow, soft and subtle but eerily unnatural. As Fang stepped closer to one of them, she noticed a silhouette of something inside. Daring a closer look, she squinted, attempting to see past the apparently unclear liquid.

"It's a laboratory." Lightning's voice jarred Fang so much she jumped, swiping her arm across one of the nearby workbenches, knocking over a few instruments. She quickly moved to steady them, only managing to further displace a couple others. When she finally managed to still the movement, she looked over at the pinkette who had an unimpressed look on her face.

"Shhh!" Unimpressed shifted to unamused.

"Did you just _'shhh'_ me?" Lightning's eyes dropped for a moment, toward the equipment still clenched in Fang's hands, "_Really?_"

"You can't just come outta nowhere with-" Fang didn't finish her retort as a thud from the tank behind her sent her into another jump. This time she spun, her previous attempts to save anything from falling to the floor rendered useless as equipment clattered on the floor—in one case, shattered.

Fang barely noticed, she was too focused on the stalker now floating, perfectly visible within the tank. At least that's what she thought it was at first. She'd seen plenty of different breeds of the particular species on Gran Pulse but nothing quite like what was floating in the tank before her. The petals of it's flower-type body were torn and shredded, the tip of it's spindle-tail ended in a barbed spike that looked far from natural. And where most of the stalkers she'd seen on Gran Pulse were vibrant in colors, using them as camouflage in the wilds—this stalker was grey with streaks of purple and blue in irregular patterns covering the majority of it's 'petals'. It looked more than just old and decayed. It looked... diseased.

"What were they doing here?" Fang muttered as she caught glimpses of the other tanks, also revealing other creatures that she'd have guessed were taken from Gran Pulse had they not looked as twisted or unnatural as the stalker. Nudibranchs, Terraquatics... even a few flan—barely recognizable within the eerie tank liquid, "Experimenting on Gran Pulsian wildlife?" The Oerban finally noticed Lightning reading a few datapads on a nearby workbench.

"These creatures all produce poison naturally..." She murmured, moving to examine one of the tanks herself. Fang observed the pinkette closely, noticing a slow look of realization cross her face, "They're harvesting it..." As she caught Fang's eye, the Oerban just raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"The last Primarch was assassinated with a poison not native to Cocoon but to Gran Pulse." Lightning explained.

"So... what, they're trying to make a cure?" Fang guessed, "So it doesn't happen again? This-" She motioned to the tanks, "-seems a tad extreme-"

"They're not looking for a cure..." Lightning interrupted, "They're trying to recreate it..." The pinkette waved the datapad in her hand, "Trying to refine it. Turn it into a weapon." She sighed heavily, slipping the datapad into her pack. Fang studied Lightning's face once again. The Cocoon native looked concerned but also confused. Like something was bothering her about the entire situation that went beyond the obvious secret-lab-under-Sanctum-Headquarters part. It were as if she were trying to recall something she'd thought she'd forgotten.

The both of them jumped when the sudden blare of sirens filled the room. They looked towards the opening in the wall where they'd fallen through. There was a flickering before it seemed to seal up, the view to the outside utility tunnel becoming opaque, fogged up. Fang moved over to it, placing a hand against it. There was a loud hum as she touched it but it were as if she were pressing against a solid wall.

"Doesn't look like we're getting back out this way." She mumbled, turning back to Lightning who was scanning the room for an alternate way out, "Any alternatives, Sunshine?" There didn't seem to be any other openings in the walls. The other three were lined with the specimen tanks. Fang noticed one of the larger tanks near the back corner seemed to be missing. She motioned to it, walking over, "Looks like they're missing one of their lab rats..." When Lighting saw what Fang had walked up to, she all but ran over.

"This isn't a capsule device." She stated, reaching in and touching the inside of the tube. A small section flipped around revealing a keypad and screen. Fang looked between it and the pinkette, "This is a teleporter..." Lightning examined the inside of the space before stepping into it, tapping a few of the keys on the keypad.

"Teleporter?" Fang frowned, "Teleporter to where?"

"I'm not sure." Lightning seemed confused at what was displayed on the small screen, "It's only displaying the basic controls, nothing about where connects to-"

"Well it's away from here right?" Fang motioned to it, stepping inside with the pinkette. The space inside could fit them both easily but gave little room to move much, particularly with Lightning's pack.

"Fang, we have no idea where we'd be teleporting to."

"Isn't anywhere that isn't blaring sirens at us for our little intrusion a better place to be right now?" Fang pointed toward the barrier on the other side of the room. Lightning seemed to contemplate the use of the teleporter. What was the Sanctum doing with one anyway-? "C'mon, Light we've clearly overstayed our welcome, time to leave."

"Fang don't-" Lightning moved to slap Fang's hand that had moved to press the less-than-conspicuous green button flashing in the middle of the keypad. She was too late however as there was a series of beeps before the keypad flipped back around and the teleporter began to glow. The Oerban just grinned—somewhat sheepishly as the hum of the device began to negate the sounds of the sirens.

Soon, all Lightning could see was white; all she could feel was a tingling throughout her entire body—and not the good kind. For a moment she felt as though she were floating but it was far from a comfortable feeling. A second later, she felt the ground under her feet once more but her balance was off and she ended up stumbling to the side as her surroundings came into focus. She saw Fang—who hadn't fared quite so well with their 'arrival'—all but collapse on the ground on her side just outside the teleporter they'd phased onto.

Blinking away bewilderment, Lightning froze. She immediately recognized their surroundings. The floor, the walls, the equipment in the rest of the room; most definitely not Sanctum. She swore—not realizing it was aloud—grabbing Fang's attention. The Oerban seemed to recover slightly from her tumble, though remained on the ground as she examined their new surroundings herself.

"Why do I get the feeling we just stepped out of the frying pan and into the fire?"

"You have no idea." Lightning answered seriously, shaking her head slowly as she met Fang's gaze, "Looks like you'll be getting a tour of Palamecia after all."

* * *

**A/N :.**

Wow, took me long enough...

I'm doing that thing where I don't really know what I'm doing, again...


	18. Palamecia

**.:.:: Chapter 17**  
**.:.:: Palamecia**

* * *

"If we're where we say you are, wouldn't that give us at least some distance from the Sanctum?" Fang questioned as she watched Lightning dart around the room, seemingly searching for something, "I mean, didn't you say Palamecia was a ways away from their headquarters-"

"Nothing happens on Cocoon without the Palamecians knowing." Lightning mumbled, finally stopping at a series of storage compartments against one of the walls, "That includes everything that goes on in Sanctum HQ." Fang frowned; though giving it a second thought, she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. Considering the relations between the two arms of the governing powers, why wouldn't one keep tabs on the other?

"Okay, but even if they knew something suspicious was going on at Sanctum HQ right now, how would they know the cause of said something-" The Oerban motioned between them "-was now here?" She almost bit her tongue as she finished her question for as soon as she'd done so, the lighting in the room suddenly flashed red and a jarring sound started to fill her ears. Though distinctly different and oddly more subtle than the one back at Sanctum HQ, it was most definitely an alarm. She caught Lightning's eyes for a second, seeing a mix of irritation and amusement in them, "They can't be that g-"

"They're that good." Lightning muttered, her attention returning to the compartments in front of her. She fumbled with the locking systems, attempting to override it, Fang guessed, "I'd say we have about ten minutes to figure out how the hell we're going to get out of this mess."

"And if we don't?"

"Then you'll get to experience everything you think you know about the Palamecians, first hand." Came a quick but serious answer. The words actually send a shiver down the Fang's spine. Even with the alarms still going strong, she could have sworn she heard actual fear in the pinkette's voice. Yet Lightning didn't stray from what she was doing. Despite her voice indicating that they were probably in the worst situation they could possibly have been in, she moved with purpose, giving herself no time to process anything but a viable solution. It was an admirable trait but pushing yourself too hard, too fast like that could prove disastrous later.

"Light…" Fang got to her feet, moving towards the pinkette, "Are you alri-"

"I'm fine." Lightning cut her off through clenched teeth as she continued to struggle with the locked containers. Fang let out a breath. It was just as she'd thought—though Lightning seemed to be losing her cool faster than she'd anticipated. For the pinkette to be so concerned about their current location…

"The Palamecians know every Sanctum soldier's face?" Fang decided to try to ease some of the rapidly increasing tension in the room. She tugged at the collar of the uniform she was wearing, "Maybe we can pretend we're tourists?" She immediately bit her tongue again when cerulean eyes flashed a silent yet incredibly harsh warning at her, "Alright… not a good plan, that's fine." Fang resisted the urge to push back, "There has to be something we can do, we just gotta keep calm-" This time a loud crash cut her off. Fang looked over to see Lightning's hand in a hole where the locking mechanism she was working on used to be.

"I don't look calm to you?!" Cerulean eyes flashed with fire as the pinkette almost growled at the Oerban. Fang merely gulped, watching as a second later the anger all but disappeared and was replaced by a concerned coldness. Fang found herself unable to react due to her mind not being able to decided between two simultaneous reactions. One: to bite back, berate the pinkette for taking out her frustration on her; and the other: run over and embrace the other woman and assuring her they'd find a way out of there.

There was hiss followed by the sound of clicking locks as the storage units by Lightning slid open. Realizing her fist was still inside the console, Lightning pulled it out, stepping to the side to take a look into the containers. Fang gave silent thanks at the distraction and kept quiet as the pinkette reached in and pulled something from the compartment. A baton? It was dark, the handle unusually—almost awkwardly—large for it. Lightning seemed to study it for a moment, throwing a glance toward Fang. The Oerban returned a look with a raised eyebrow. Lightning tossed Fang the baton. She caught it with ease but hadn't anticipated the weight which was considerably heavier than she'd have thought.

"…What is it? A club?" Fang once again looked over at the pinkette, who had returned to looking through the storage unit. A second later, she tossed something else at Fang. The Oerban caught what looked like a glove—a lightly armored glove with and intricate pattern weaved on the palm-side.

"Put it on." She heard from Lightning before she had a chance to ask. Fang blinked a few times before following the instructions. The glove fit snugly and was unexpectedly light. She flexed her wrist, wiggled her fingers then suddenly there was a crackle and a hum from the glove before the intricate patterns began to glow. In surprise she let the baton slip from her other hand. Before she could react to catch it however, it stopped halfway to the ground.

"What the-?" Before she could finish, it snapped up against, back into the glove. She only managed another blink before the baton itself began to glow. The same type of pattern on the glove spread across the supposed handle. As soon as it completely covered it, it changed form. Another shaft sliding from the handle as it closed tighter around the mid-section, the baton seemed to double—no, triple—in size.

Eventually the device grew still and Fang realized she was starting at a staff. It was slightly smaller than her lance and had no foldable blades at the end. Instead a small cylinder of dimly glowing energy hummed around each end. Its weight almost seemed to have lessened as she rotated it slowly. The midsection was still glowing, as was the inner part of the glove. She took the staff in her other hand and released her gloved hand's grip on it. It remained powered even as she separated the two. What WAS this thing?

"It's a training staff." Lightning explained as if reading her mind, "Palamecians use them before they are given their official CG gauntlet and weapon." Fang looked over at the pinkette who was slipping a glove onto her own hand. She pulled out a similar-looking, baton-shaped device. It was smaller, much less awkward in proportions—an actual baton as opposed to a retracted staff. Fang watched as Lightning activated it for a moment before slipping it onto her belt.

"Not that it wasn't obvious enough already…" Fang mumbled, walking over to Lightning who was moving to away from the storage units, "But I guess this makes it clear which branch of the government has the shinier toys…"

"The Sanctum hasn't developed CrysGen technology as far as the Palamecians." The pinkette had moved to another set of consoles, of which she were able to access and use, "It's why they still use physical armor and weaponry." Her tone was a mix of distraction and matter-of-fact; like she was reciting something out of a book, "It's why I still don't understand how they have a teleporter leading directly into Palamecia…" Lightning trailed off, obviously distracted with something else as she worked at the console, bringing up various different types of screens—Likely attempting to find a viable escape route, "This could prove… to be… complicated." The pinkette muttered, shaking her head at the console she was working at.

"I think we passed _'complicated'_ when we decided to take a trip down the trap door, Sunshine." Fang motioned toward the teleporter, "We crossed into the _'big damn' trouble'_ zone when the alarm bells started ringing back with the Sanctum folk." She then motioned to the console Lightning was working at, "And now we're about at the _'point of no return'_. And I don't even know what we're looking at here!"

"What was that about being calm?" Fang hadn't realized her voice had risen a few decibels over the course of her small rant. She just gave the pinkette a 'Yeah-yeah-laugh-it-up' look, We're on one of the lower floors," Lightning began explaining, motioning to a schematic of Palamecia that appeared on one of the holographic displays above the console, "Right here."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Fang shrugged, "Wouldn't that put us closer to the door?" Lightning could have laughed at the oversimplification of their position and situation.

"Yes but the closer we are to 'the door', the higher the security is." Lightning explained further, "Other than the top floor where the Primarch's quarters are, security more or less decreases the higher you are in Palamecia."

"Lovely."

"And it wouldn't matter anyway, the main gate isn't an ideal exit strategy."

"Well what do you expect us to do? Jump out a bloody window?" Fang surveyed the room pointedly, "…Does this place even _have_ windows?" Lightning rolled her eyes; Of course Palamecia had windows, but they were in a teleporter room, it didn't _need_ windows. The pinkette ignored the question and continued searching for alternatives. Plausible options were few and far between, Palamecia was a fortress and could just as easily keep intruders in as it could keep them out.

"Doesn't this place have a shuttle dock or something?" Fang suggested, noticing the seriously perturbed look on the pinkette's face, "We could hijack a shuttle, make a break for it?"

"There are no shuttles at Palamecia." Lightning stated. Fang stared at her, blinking like she's said something ridiculous.

"Then how the hell did you get onto Gran Pulse?" The Oerban sighed exasperatedly, "Did you have a Sanctum escort squad too?" Another half-serious question. Lightning let out an equally heavy sigh as she rotated and shifted the image of Palamecia's schematics on the display. She focused in on an open area right in the middle, seemingly suspended in the air until four platforms appeared, bridging to it from the main structure. Fang seemed to study the image intently, as if remembering she'd seen it somewhere before. After a few moments the Oerban looked back towards the teleporter, then back to the image. After repeating this a few times, she turned to Lightning.

"Is that a giant-"

"Teleporter." Lightning both finished and answered her question. Short flashes of her exile flickered in the back of her mind; it seemed like months ago, "It's how they exiled me to Gran Pulse." The pinkette shook off the memories and started looking for the quickest, safest route to the only real chance of an exit they had. It was completely crazy and wasn't much safer than trying to escape through the main gate but upon weighing the two options against one another, Lightning decided to go with the teleporter and time didn't allow for second guesses, "Okay…" She mumbled, deciding on a route—more or less.

"Care to share?" Fang seemed to realize this.

"All the obvious, quickest ways to the teleporter are too exposed, not to mention patrolled by knights." She indicated to the areas in question. Fang was still having trouble keeping up with the fancy tech and blueprints. She did notice something above the giant teleporter.

"What about this thing?" She pointed to the dark patch on the display. Lightning paused for a moment. Fang couldn't read the expression on the pinkette's face, "Here."

"That's…" Lightning zoomed in on the room, "The Artifacts room."

"Artifacts room?" Fang questioned as Lightning continued punching in commands. The Oerban then noticed that while the pinkette was doing so, everything on the screen seemed to change except the black space that was supposedly the Artifacts room.

"It's where Palamecia stores any artifacts worth keeping."

"Worth keeping?" Lightning didn't respond to the question. She wasn't exactly sure how to. She'd only been in the Artifact room twice, and only then for a very brief time. She'd walked through, able to note the substantial volume of items she'd never seen before, but neither visit took enough time to examine anything specific. The room on the display was still just a dark area—it didn't surprise her much that the interior didn't appear on the schematics of the fortress. She instead focused on the outside.

"This could work."

"It could?" Fang seemed slightly surprised. She hadn't expected her opinion to be considered, let alone agreed with. She looked between Lightning and the display, "Okay, yeah it's the only other thing close enough to the teleporter but there's still at least what… a floor or two drop between them? Is there even a way out of the room we could use to jump down?" Instead of providing an answer, Lightning merely began tapping on the console again, "Light?"

"There may be a way, but I have to check something before they-" The screens suddenly disappeared, the console suddenly locked up and the room stopped flashing, the inside remaining an eerie red.

"Before they do that?" Fang said in a low voice, only vaguely realizing she was whispering.

"Yes."

"And… what exactly would _'that'_ be?"

"Lock me out of the system." Lightning motioned to a display still functioning on the wall to their side. There was a flickering image of a hallway, a small group of Palamecian Knights were running down it, "Meaning they've found out where we are." Fang swallowed thickly as she threw a glance at the door of the room, "That hallway is right outside."

"So…?" Fang's grip on the staff in her hand tightened. She could have sworn it hummed louder in discomfort, "What now?"

"You wanted an educational experience, listen carefully." Lightning spoke, slowly moving toward the door. Fang started to say something but was cut off, "Palamecian Knights are trained to favor defense over offence. Wild strikes—regardless of power—aren't effective against them in combat so don't waste your energy." Fang swallowed again as she followed Lightning's movements, standing to the pinkette's left, facing the door, "Calculate your strikes; between the joints in their armor. Their weakest spot is the back of their neck and bottom half of their spine." Lightning motioned to the staff in Fang's hands, "That staff isn't made to last long against real CrysGen weapons so if you can dodge, do it—though you could probably get away with parrying the lighter attacks." At this point Fang could hear footsteps stop on the other side of the door accompanied by muffle voices.

"Right… Calculated strikes… weak points… dodge before parry…" She recited, whether for Lightning or herself she couldn't be sure—probably for both, "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Lightning responded as the lights around the doors indicated they were being activated, "I hope you're a fast learner." Fang almost let out a laugh as the door slid open. Fang had to use just about every fiber of her being to resist jumping them, decided to wait on Lightning to make the first move.

"Stand down and lower your weapons!"

"Sanctum? What is Sanctum doing here?"

"I thought Sanctum was the one being infiltrated?"

"I said lower your weapons!"

Fang's grip on the staff couldn't get much tighter as the bombardment of both commands and speculations filled the room. Lightning remained calm, her weapon still low, against her side. The five knights surrounded the both of them, their armor powered up, their weapons at the ready. Seeing them, Fang could feel the rush of memories of years before rush toward the front of her mind but she forced them back, concentrating on the present.

"Who are you and why are you here?" One of the Knights barked, pointing his Knight-blade at Lightning, "No Sanctum personnel were authorized to be within Palamecian territory today!"

"I'm not getting a match for either of them in the Sanctum personnel database…" Another knight spoke up, revealing a small display above his gauntlet, "They're not Sanctum."

"Sanctum wouldn't know how to operate the training equipment…" A third knight observed.

"Who are you?" The first knight questioned again. Fang looked over at Lightning who only gave her a shadow of a glance before clearing her throat.

"Tourists." With a speed even Fang was surprised with; Lightning darted forward, gripping the first knight's wrist. She twisted it and followed with a knee to his gut. It hit his armor but he still doubled over at the impact. Whirling around she brought the baton down on the back of his neck hard enough where there was a loud crack before his armor seemed to flicker as his dropped to the ground like a stone. There was no more than a split-second pause before three other knights jumped at her. Fang almost felt sluggish, observing the speed of combat—not just Lightning's speed, but the knights' as well.

On reflex she jumped backwards out of the way of a swipe of the last knight's blade. It shimmered, made entirely by crystal energy. Forcing her thoughts from the pinkette, the Oerban attempted to focus on the opponent in front of her. The knight wasted no time continuing his attack. Fang had barely enough time to comprehend them. Quick and precise—just like Lightning—Fang evaded what she could but was forced to parry much more due to being unable to keep up with the knight's speed. Perhaps if she had her regular weapon she would have fared a little better but despite it being more lightweight, the staff she was currently wielding felt sluggish and clunky. It didn't help that she'd never actually fought a Palamecian Knight before. She'd seen them in action but defending herself against one proved to be something entirely different. They fought as fast as any Oerban, with strength equal to the Taejins, with a defense as strong as the Sulyyans and the preciseness of the Paddraseans. Any weakness she tried to exploit, they closed before she could do so. She had managed to land a few hits on the knight but all it did was graze his armor.

"You don't fight like someone who knows how to use that thing." The knight stated, landing a kick to her side. She stumbled to her left, barely parrying another swipe of his CrysGen blade. He blocked an attempt at his side before whirling around with another kick, this time sending her flying to the side, into a wall. She grunted as she hit the ground. Steadying herself she glared at the knight but her eye caught something behind him. And for a brief few moments her attention was pulled from him entirely.

Nearer the center of the room, Lightning was fight on even footing with not one, not two but three knights. Three knights with their armor powered, fully armed, were not able to land a single hit on the pinkette. Lightning spun under, around and over each attack. She only struck out at perfectly time openings, whittling down their strength one by one. Fang watched as one of the knights tried to grab her. She easily hooked his arm around him and kicked his weapon away. Using him as a shield against the others, she whirled him around before striking a quick but firm blow to the back of his neck, knocking him out of the fight. The other two did not hesitate in their attacks though. They continued as though nothing had happened, completely ignoring their comrade. At a closer look at Lightning's weapon, Fang saw her shifting the shaft part from one side, through the handle to the other and locking it before using it against the other knights. Were anyone else wielding it may have looked completely silly but Lightning used it and made the training toy as strong as a fully powered CrysGen-blade—without breaking a sweat.

"And I thought that damn bow was weird…" She muttered, her eyes falling to the staff in her own hands. It was only for a brief second before she had to use it to parry her own opponent's blade. Unfortunately in the heat of the moment she'd forgotten Lightning's warning on the strength of the staff and found herself squinting away from the sparks that flew from the center of it as it was sliced in half. She looked between the two halves, "Well, this wasn't covered in class." She jumped away from the knight still advancing on her. The ends of the staff were puttering out of power and though the palm of her glove still glowed, the handle of the weapon flickered out, "Great."

She continued to evade the oncoming attacks from her opponent, finding herself forced backwards more and more. It wasn't long until she'd be cornered. The knight parried one of her attempts to swipe at him with the broken staff and kicked her hard in the gut. She grunted and stumbled backwards. Another kick to the side sent her reeling and the last one ended with her slamming against a wall again and sliding to the ground.

"He was right, you aren't Sanctum," The Knight rolled his shoulders before stepping toward her, "Not even they fight this badly." His tone was neutral but there was an unmistakable mocking to it. Fang clenched her jaw, "You fight like a weakling." Fang's grip once again began to tighten on the staff halves as she anticipated the coming taunt, "You fight like Pulsian."

"ARAGH!" Fang all but roared as she jumped to her feet and lunged at the knight. She swung both halves of the staff, barely noticing they still flickered with energy at the tips. As she swung he parried but was not prepared for the force of the blow. It sent him side-stepping. Fang lunged again, once more using both ends of the staff to attack. It left her wide open but all she cared about was knocking him off his feet. She wasn't sure if the burning in her gut was from the knight's last attack or the anger that was bubbling through her. She swung again, this time it connected but when she looked, she saw he'd erected a shield from his barrier. This only made her angrier. Swinging again, the knight merely raised the shield again. However, when it connected this time, his shield seemed to flicker. It was only for a moment but both of them noticed it and both of them froze.

"Heh, defense my foot." Fang muttered before pulling back for another swing. The knight, still bewildered at the suddenly instability of his shield, dodged the Oerban's first attack. She followed through however, into another swing, this time forcing him to block. Again as the two ends of the staff—now pulsating with even greater and more unstable energy—made contact with his shield, it flickered more, this time disappear for a whole two seconds before returning, "Waste my energy… pfft." Fang swung again and again as the knight continued to evade as much as possible, "I could do this all day." With a double-handed swing, she clipped the knight's shoulder, the armor protecting it flickering out without returning.

"What did you-?!" The knight tried to block another double-handed swing with his weapon this time but as it connected with the two staff halves, this time it shattered, the blade snapping in half before flickering out of sight, "How can you -?!" Fang just aimed another blow at his torso.

"That's easy…" She growled as it connected, sending him flying into the wall, the armor protecting his chest faded away as his slid to the ground. Fang felt no mercy as she walked toward the knight until she was standing in front of him. He forced his shield back up as she raised one of the staff halves, "Fight like a Gran Pulsian." Fang brought her arm around, connecting with the shield, completely shattering it before connecting with his helmet. It took a majority of the blow but eventually shattered as well. The knight was thrown to the side onto the ground, unmoving. There was a trickle of blood that ran down the side of his head. She barely acknowledged it as she felt something move behind her. She whirled around, the broken weapon in her hands read to strike.

She froze when she saw the flash of pink and blue. She looked to see one of the ends of the staff a mere inch away from the side of Lightning's head. Her own concern and confusion matched the look in the pinkette's eyes. She immediately lowered the weapon blinking as though a sudden wave of something akin-to-but-not-exactly relief spread through her body. It was like a weight lifted off her shoulders and the burning in her gut seemed to fade away. Her arms suddenly felt like lead, the halves of the staff almost slipping out of her shaken fingers and weakened grasp.

"Fang." Lightning asked in an almost questioning voice.

"Light." Fang responded automatically, her mind still jacked on what she assumed was adrenaline. The pinkette stared at her for another few seconds before her eyes drifted down to the knight on the ground. Fang only watched as a look of surprise and puzzlement flash across the pinkette's face before she looked up at her.

"Impressive." Was all she said. Fang blinked again before noticing the other knights behind her in a pile, unconscious or groaning in pain. She motioned to them with her chin.

"Yeah well… you were hogging all the others." Lightning seemed to let out a breath of relief at the comment though she merely clicked her tongue before turning away.

"We've got to move." She head toward the open door, "No doubt reinforcements are already on the way." Fang immediately followed, her grasp on the two broken staff pieces returning. As she reached Lightning, the pinkette noticed the broken weapon. She turned to the storage container.

"I'm good with these." Fang said, stopping Lightning from retrieving a replacement. The pinkette raised an eyebrow at the Oerban, "What? Hey, I only managed to take down that oaf after he cut it in two." Fang stated with a nod back into the room. Lightning shook her head but said nothing as she continued out into the hall. After checking the coast was clear, she broke into a run down one direction, Fang following closely at her heels.

The both of them actually encountered less resistance than Fang would have thought considering Lightning's explanation of Palamecia's defense. They'd been caught at the end of one of the hallways leading to a lift but it was only a pair of knights that were easily dispatched by Lightning. Their unlikely luck of a clear path could also be due to Lightning leading them through rooms adjacent to the hall and not down the halls themselves.

As they made their way around and eventually up, Fang began to get a clearer and clearer view of the Cocoon fortress. It was as magnificent as it they said back down on Gran Pulse. It was an entirely different world—not just from her home, but from the rest of what she'd seen of Cocoon as well. The architecture, the power systems, it was nothing she'd ever seen before yet… there was an odd, almost nostalgic feeling at the back of her mind and the burning sensation in her gut was slowly returning. Had the blow she'd taken been more serious than she thought? She wondered, running a hand briefly over her stomach.

"Alright, access to the Artifacts room should be right down this hall." Lightning's voice brought her back to the present. They were presently in what looked like a meeting room, standing just inside. She peered out to look at where Lightning had indicated. At the end of the hall, on the opposite wall was a door—or rather a barrier—with a single console next to it. The pinkette suddenly moved without warning, or if she did, Fang hadn't heard it. The Oerban followed her but as they reached the barrier, Fang saw nothing but a long drop down the middle of the building on the other side.

"Um…" She looked over at the pinkette who had already begun using the console, "And how exactly are we supposed to get from here…" She motioned outside of the barrier at the forty-or-so foot gap between where they were standing and the Artifacts room that seemed to be floating in place, "To there…" Still no answer even as Lightning seemed to bring down the barrier. It flickered out, making the long drop even clearer, causing Fang to step back, away from the edge. A few seconds later, there was a flickering right outside the edge. Looking closer the Oerban saw a pathway form between the edge and the door to the Archives room—most likely made of the same crystal energy used to power the knights' weapons and shields.

"They've access the console at the Artifacts room walkway."

"They're after the artifacts?"

Shouting from down the hall caught both women's attention. Lightning didn't hesitate before stepping out onto the walkway. Fang hesitated… a lot. Even though the walkway was clearly visible—it was still somewhat transparent, giving a relatively decent view of the some hundred foot drop to the ground below. Fang was far from being afraid of heights but this was another matter entirely. Before she could contemplate too long she felt a strong hand grasp her own.

"Come on!" Lightning's urged as she pulled Fang out onto the walkway. The Oerban's body tensed—both at the sudden jerk and at the pinkette's touch. Fang also resisted, ever so slightly, out of reflex, "Trust me!" The words immediately cut through the tension, her feet continuing to move and her hand tightening—just a little bit—around Lightning's. The two of them quickly reached the Artifacts room door, which opened as they approached. As they stepped inside they heard yelling from the opening behind them.

"There!"

"After them!"

Fang felt Lightning drop her hand and immediately missed the contact. The pinkette readied the weapon he'd put on her belt. Fang looked between Lightning and the approaching knights. Sure they'd have to enter the room one by one but they would still have to fight. As her eyes fell to the CrysGen walkway, her fingers twitched. Her gaze shifted to the staff pieces in her hands.

"Light get away from the doorway."

"What-?"

"I said move." She gripped the broken weapons in her hand tighter.

"Fang what are you-"

"Trust me." The words ended any further discussion as the Oerban felt Lightning move away. Taking a deep breath, her eyes locked on the knights advancing, Fang raised both her arms, bringing the weapons above her head. The knights seemed to notice and slow their pace but did not stop. With a loud grunt Fang brought the staff down, slamming both ends against the walkway just outside the door. The advancing knights actually stopped this time—if anything, confused as to what their intruder was doing.

Tiny shockwaves rippled up Fang's arms. The Oerban looked to see the pathway hadn't changed.

"…Fang?" She ignored Light's voice for the moment, once again bringing her arms above her head, "You can't seriously think…" Once again Fang slammed the staff into the pathway. There was a faint crack of one of the tips snapping but still, nothing. The knights continued moving. Until a second later when there was a disturbingly visible flicker of the energy under their feet. They halted again immediately. Lightning swallowed. Fang grinned. The knights on the walkway were looking between where they'd been headed and where they'd been. Eventually they noticed Fang raise her arms again.

"Hey Light?" Fang asked, rather loudly, heard by the pinkette and the knights nearest them, "Can you Palamecians fly yet?" The knights slowly began backing up. Smirking, the Oerban summoned one more burst of strength, "Let's find out, shall we?" As she brought her arms down, the knights were now running full speed back toward the outer hall. As the ends of the staff connected with the walkway, the entire shaft of both halves shattered along with the horizontal barrier. Slowly it began to crack, the energy dissipating by sections spreading from the Artifacts room to the outer hall. The last of the knights barely managed to jump to catch another's arm before the walkway disappeared from under his feet. Fang let out a chuckle as he was pulled back into the hall by his comrade.

She turned to Lightning, a grin on her face. She was met with another raised eyebrow. For a moment it could have been Vanille about to chew her out for making fun of one of the elders or something.

"What?!" She motioned to the knights, only then noticing her hands were shaking. She examined them, eventually feeling her arms turn to lead again. It was a bizarre feeling. Until she felt Lightning's hands around them. They grew still immediately, as did her heart it seemed. Despite attempting to resist the urge, her eyes rose to meet the pinkette's.

'_I loved you.'_

Fang pulled her hands away, feeling them immediately begin to shake once more—though for an entirely different reason. As she focused on what she'd averted her gaze to, her hands dropped to her sides. The Palamecian Artifacts room was much larger than it looked from the outside. The floor slanted downward toward the center where it ended in an even smaller area where a workbench and set of consoles stood. The artifacts themselves were encased in cubes of crystal energy of various size—though unlike what you'd see in the Paddrasean archives for example, the cubes gently floated along the walls of the room, reaching all the way up to the skylight above. As she scanned the area, the Oerban noticed something, which made her sigh exasperatedly. She turned back to Lightning and motioned out of the open door.

"This is the only way in or out, isn't it?"

"We need to move." Lightning didn't answer—not that she needed to. Fang couldn't see any other door leading into or out of the Artifact's room. She did notice the room grow brighter as Lightning began her descent down the stairs toward the smaller area at the bottom of them, "Since the console itself wasn't damaged, they're probably working to re-stabilize the walkway." The Oerban threw a look over her shoulder back across the gap to where the knights were already working on the console. She turned and followed Lightning down the stairs.

"So we made it here, now how exactly are we gonna make it the few dozen feet down to the giant teleporter below?" Fang questioned as they reached the workbench. Lightning activated one of the consoles and a display appeared over the workbench. Each artifact's data and description was listed. Lightning began idly skimming through a few of them, unable to resist the urge. Most were nothing too out of the ordinary, some tablets, data caches, devices—both intact and broken—many of which were clearly not from either the present age no Cocoon itself.

"I recognize some of these things." Fang recognized a few of the images flashing across the display. Suddenly she grabbed Lightning's hands, stopping at one of the images. At first glance it was merely a set of crystals, but looking at them closer, Fang—and eventually Lightning—both felt a strange familiarity with them. There were six in total and they each had a color and shape distinct from one another. A feather, a rose, a fang-

Both women were pulled from the display when they heard voices from the top of the stairs behind them. Glancing at one another they both acknowledged that their pursuers were getting closer. The knights had stabilized the walkway and would be in the room in less than a minute.

"What…?" Fang noticed Lightning had turned back to the display. Fang looked to see the image and data had changed. Not crystals. Lightning was checking the previous and the next items in the database but nothing. The entry for the six crystals was gone. For reasons she couldn't explain, Fang felt as confused as Lightning and strangely disappointed. After another reminder that the knights would be on them within seconds, the Oerban forced the crystals from her mind at the moment and turned back to the pinkette, the topic of their pursuers taking priority.

Apparently the console could also be used able pull whichever artifact of the user's choosing to them so they could study it up close. Lightning seemed to be demonstrating this by punching in commands that began to move some of the encasement cubes. Fang watched as a few of them began moving position, then more and more at a time seemed to be following suit. Soon the entire room seemed to be swirling in a mass of shifting cubes. Fang looked back over at the Lightning; what was she doing?

"Having fun, Light?" Fang questioned half-serious. She didn't get an answer. Only the sound of humming display cubes and the growing barking of the Palamecians filled the room.

"There!" The knights were at the top of the stairs now. At least half a dozen of them filed into the room and slowly began to descend, "There's no other way out of this room, you will stand down and you will surrender."

"Light…" Fang hissed, fully turning to face the advancing party. The pinkette didn't turn. The Oerban looked over at her, confused and on the verge of panic, "Light…?" Lightning's fingers stopped moving as she raised her hands in the air. Fang frowned. What was she up to- Something caught the corner of her eye; a flashing prompt on the giant display over the workbench.

'_CONFIRM REFILE…'_

"Refile…?" Fang's eyes drifted around the room to the floating cubes, whatever order they'd been in before had be completely shattered thanks to Lightning's manipulations a minute ago—some were even still moving, bumping into one another. She looked back at the prompt, then at Lightning, "…no way-" With a smirk, the pinkette turned and hit the prompt. Immediately the cubes froze in place. Then as a loud hum filled the area, they began to move, faster this time with seemingly more accurate movements. Fang was almost too amused to hear Lightning call to her.

"Head for the skylight."

"Are you se-" Lightning had already begun jumping atop the moving cubes before Fang even finished her exclamation, "This is… crazy…" The Oerban admit the statement was more or less a given halfway through stating it.

"This coming from someone who goes around jumping on and off a Svarog's back on a regular basis?" Fang actually laughed as she began to jump, forced to take a different route than the pinkette due to the shifting 'steps'.

"I think your little exile to Gran Pulse fried your brains, Sunshine." The Oerban teased, launching herself from one cube to the other. Slowly and surely the both of them were getting nearer and nearer to the skylight, farther and farther from the ground. And though the Palamecians had attempted to follow them, even with their advanced skill-set, artifact-containment-cube-jumping was not one of them. Fang saw Lightning reach the skylight first. She raised the baton to break it but before she could there was a loud series of shots as the glass shattered, throwing Lightning off balance. The pinkette barely managed to jump away to a different cube as the both of them looked down to see additional forces had joined the knights. Sanctum forces. With guns.

"Well, now it's a party-"

"Move!" Lightning yelled, already jumping for the shattered opening. She grabbed an edge where the glass had complete fallen to avoid getting cut, and proceeded to pull herself up. Another round of gunfire forced Fang onto a different cube, a little farther down. She cursed, looking for another step to get her closer. She saw an opportunity and moved to jump but another few shots prevented her from doing so.

"Fang!" Lightning caught the Oerban's attention, "Jump!" Lean out of the opening and extending an arm. Fang didn't hesitate, only obeyed. She ran, jumping to one smaller cube before launching herself towards Lightning's outstretched hand. The Oerban vaguely registered shots being fired but most of her focus was on the pinkette. Time seemed to slow as she flew towards her target and only returned to normal when she found it, grasping it tightly, the hold returned with equal strength from Lightning. The pinkette slowly helped Fang out of the room and onto its roof, narrowly evading yet another barrage of gunfire.

Fang's world began to sway as she finally realized where exactly they were. They were atop a floating room with no real means to get to where they wanted to without jumping off.

"When I mentioned jumping out a window, I was joking, you know that right?" Lightning gave an utterly unamused look at Fang. The Oerban chuckled, "Okay so… we out-jumped Sanctum and the Palamecians but I still see no way from here to down there-" She noticed Lightning motion over her shoulder. Turning she saw one of the lifts descending from the higher floors. Leaning out slightly to see the lifts went all the way from the bottom of Palamecia to the top, she figured out Lightning's plan, "You really know how to show a girl a good time." The words slipped from Fang's mouth before she could stop them. She froze for a minute but remembered she was with a former Palamecian knight, dressed as a Sanctum Soldier, outrunning both sides of the Cocoon government, through the most defensible fortress on the planet. At this point she'd resigned to let whatever should happen, happen.

Suddenly she was yanked backward as the glass below them cracked as shots connected with it, a few of them piercing through and whizzing past the both of them, "And such a gentleman…" The Oerban trailed off when the sound of cracking glass continued. The both of them looked down to see said glass slowly breaking apart under their feet. Scanning the rest of the area around their feet, Fang realized the skylight was bigger than it had looked and that glass covered most of the area around them.

"Run." Lightning muttered, "Now." The both of them turned and ran towards one of the edges. More gunfire and the sound of breaking glass chased them as they neared the drop off. The lift that had been descending was just passing the Artifacts room, continuing to make its way downward. Both women jumped just as the glass fell from under them. They seemed to fly for a good few seconds before they crashed into the open lift in a heap. Lightning didn't rest; she immediately sprung to her feet, seeing more Sanctum soldiers flooding the halls on more or less every floor of the fortress.

As the lift moved below the Artifacts room, the teleporter came into view. Fang saw it had an outer ring with walkways leading to the actual teleporter pad itself. A large open control center sat on the back side of the walkway, it looked powered down. She also noticed that the gap between the lift and the outer ring was without a doubt too far for them to jump. She shook her head.

"Light there's no way we can make a jump like that-" She turned to where she'd thought Light was standing but found her instead, crouched on the ground near the front of the lift. The Oerban leaned over, seeing the pinkette was fiddling with something, "What are you-?" Before she could finish, Lightning stood and motioned for her to get up. Fang did so but took a closer look at whatever Lightning had been messing with. It was a small device she'd attached to the very edge. A soft beeping echoed from it. And were those… numbers-?

"Light, please don't tell me that's-"

"Get ready to make a running jump." Lightning cut her off, moving to stand near the device, facing out toward the upcoming landing target. Fang just let out a snort, almost in disbelief of the pinkette's ideas, "It's just a pulse mine. The landing will probably hurt more than the blast." Fang wanted to laugh at how Lightning genuinely seemed to think that particular snippet of information made what she was thinking of doing, less insane. Regardless, she moved to stand next to the pinkette, giving and amused glance down at the planted mine.

"Best field trip ever." Fang muttered, preparing herself, the sound of the mine ticking down growing increasingly louder with each beep.

"Go." Lightning said, seeming to suck all the other noises from the area.

The both of them ran, launching themselves off the edge at the same time. As soon as Fang felt her feet leave the lift, there was a strange pop and loud hum before something slammed into her back, propelling her forward at least five times the speed she had been running. The impact was so sudden she had no time to cry out as she flew through the air with little control. She hit the outer ring—which thankfully was wider than it looked—on her side. She'd been thrown too hard for her to attempt to try and roll to her feet. Instead she rolled once before she skid to a stop, ending up on her back, the feeling in the right side of her body temporarily gone. She groaned as it slowly gave way to an ache.

"They're on the teleporter pad!" They heard voices echo from the surrounding hallways—both Sanctum and Palamecian.

"Somebody get down there!"

"I want them neutralized! They're sitting ducks! Take them down!"

After the stars subsided, Fang attempted to move her body, it hurt all over but she managed to sit up. Lightning had already managed to get to her feet and was stumbling—half throwing herself—toward the control center. The Oerban saw a least half a dozen Sanctum rifles take aim at them from multiple floors. She immediately tensed.

"Light!" She croaked as the suddenly decision to scream sent a small, sharp pain in her chest. By then the pinkette had reached the control consoles but the soldiers had already begun to pull their triggers. Her eyes shut tight as she prepared for pain but suddenly there was a loud static buzzing and the sound of ricocheting projectiles. Slowly opening her eyes, she looked to see a large, shimmering bubble covering the area of the teleporter and surrounding ring, "Light?" She called again, directing her attention towards the control center. The pinkette was pulling herself up, powering up the teleporter, a hand clutching her working arm, "Nice save, Sunshine." Fang said through a sigh, falling back onto her back, finally taking the time to breathe.

Eventually, the inside of the bubble began displaying pictures, locales all throughout Gran Pulse. The bubble acted as a giant monitor? She watched as a few other screens popped up. She recognized a few of them.

"Light…" She sat up once more, "Are you scanning for crystals?" The pinkette didn't respond at first, engrossed in her task. Fang felt a pang of both concern and frustration, "Light." She forced herself to her feet, keeping an eye on the different data readings Lightning was taking. She noticed Sulyya and turned to the pinkette, "Lightning, we've got the entirety of Palamecia and probably half of Sanctum right outside this bubble and you're playing treasure hunter?"

"With Palamecia's scanner I can get clearer readings without overloading the system." Lightning finally spoke. Fang made her way over to the pinkette, seeing Taejin's Tower also appearing on display.

"Lightning stop, we have to get out of here." Fang all but demanded, "You have data from the Sanctum scans our exit is right in front of us—we don't have any more time for this!"

"Alright! Alright!" Lightning finally resigned. The screens remained up but Fang noticed a glow emanating from the teleporter pad. She let out a breath of relief but noticed Lightning still at the console, and the display screens still changing on the bubble.

"Lightning-!"

"There's something else!" Lightning's voice was sharp, leaving no room for argument. her eyes remained on the data she was gathering, "Something that isn't in any of the four tribes territory." Fang paused for a moment at the announcement. She looked to see Lightning attempting to find a particularly bright spot on the scans, "It's… It's right under Cocoon…" the pinkette continued, confusion lacing her voice, "No…" She trailed off.

"What?" Fang found herself asking, curiosity getting the better of her.

"It's _on_ Cocoon…" The pinkette shook her head, disbelief joining her confusion, "In Palamecia."

"What are you talking about-?" Fang tried to make sense of the strange scanned images that were appearing but it all looked like one big glowing blob. Her gaze eventually returned to Lightning whose eyes were already on her. The cerulean orbs burned into her—somewhat literally as a strange sensation bubbled up from deep in her gut. She subconsciously placed a hand on her stomach just under her chest. And for a long while, neither moved; Lightning stared confused, Fang bewildered at said confusion.

A loud snap made both women jump as the console Lightning worked at began to spark. The pinkette jumped away, moving away from the entire control center. A second after she did so there was an even louder crack as over half the tech burst into a flurry of sparks. Another second after that, the bubble surrounding the teleporter dimmed and flickered before random chunks of it disappeared completely.

"There! Now!" A voice yelled at the opening. Fang, who happened to be right under one was forced to throw herself out of the line of fire. She grunted as she hit the ground and scrambled to one of the areas still shielded by the bubble. She looked over to see Lightning doing the same. A glance towards the teleporter pad confirmed it was still active, though still powering up.

"Light?!" She made her way cautiously around towards Lightning, who was moving towards the damaged control center, "Light! What are you doing?! Let's go!" The pinkette climbed up the front of the broken equipment and reached and pulled something from one of the machines. Fang didn't know what it was, and she really didn't care. She reached the pinkette and forcibly pulled her away, "We have to go!" Lightning merely nodded. As the both of them turned to head towards the teleporter pad however, they both realized how quiet it had suddenly gotten. No firing, no shouts, nothing. Fang grew as suspicious as Lightning, trying to peer out of the holes in the bubble shield to see what was going on.

"Gas!" Lightning suddenly yanked Fang to the other side of the control panel. The Oerban looked to see small devices—similar to the pulse mine Lightning had used on the lift—had been thrown into the bubble and were expelling an orange gas It'd already spread to where Fang had been standing, "They've developed it already?" Fang's mind flashed back to the secret lab at Sanctum HQ where Lightning had guessed the Sanctum were attempting to create a more potent version of a Gran Pulsian poison, "Come on." Lightning urged, continuing to pull Fang in the opposite direction towards the nearest walkway onto the teleporter pad. The pad was fully active now, a bright light emanating from it. As they reached the bridge, when Lightning stepped out onto it, a hail of gunfire sent her reeling backwards. Fang had to twist around to help her keep her balance. With gas covering an area in one direction and a sure-fire chance to get riddled with holes in the other, means of escape seemed out of their reach.

"You wouldn't happen to have any more of those pulse mines would ya?" Fang joked. She turned to Lightning who stared at her, completely serious. The Oerban let out a laugh, stepping away as the pinkette reached into her pack and pulled out another one of the requested explosive devices. However, before she could even think about deciding where to plant it, there was a clattering sound on the ground. The both of them turned to see something metal bounce off the walkway, off the side of the control center and roll to a stop just on the other side of it, near the gas. Lightning squinted through the orange mist, trying to identify it. It wasn't another gas bomb, it was too large. It was cylindrical, shiny and oddly familiar. Where had she seen it before? Her arm twitched.

"Paddra."

"What?" Fang turned to the pinkette.

"Fang-!" Lightning reached for Fang but just as they made contact, the explosive went off, sending the both of them flying backwards, off over the edge.

* * *

**A/N:.**

Ah... something happened.


	19. Crumble

**.:.:: Chapter 18  
.:.:: Crumble  
**

* * *

Everything Vanille heard was muffled and everything she saw was blurred and tinted an eerie green-blue. Silhouettes danced across her vision, bright lights flashed between them. Her first thought was to call out—anything, to anyone. But she couldn't speak, something was wrapped around her mouth, muffling any sound. Her wrists and ankles were also bound. She willed herself to struggle but her body felt heavy, weak yet... weightless? Was she submerged in... liquid? As her mind slowly began to form a proper thought process, a searing pain shot through her body, sparks flashing across the back of her eyes.

Vanille shot up in her chair. Her chair? She blinked, taking in her surroundings. The light was dim but it was clear enough to see she was in a completely different place—the Paddrasean archives to be exact. On the table in front of her was a sizable pile of old books and scrolls, mixed with more advance data caches. On the opposite side of the table, sprawled out; her feet swung up on the edge; a book forgotten in her hands, strewn across her stomach, with the faintest trail of drool peeking out of her carelessly open mouth; was Aquinas. Napping. It didn't surprise Vanille but the sight make her choke on a laugh, the short flash of the dream—the nightmare—was quickly nudged towards the back of her mind.

The Oerban stretched, though was interrupted when a smaller scroll she'd forgotten about rolled off her lap. She caught it—barely—and placed it back on the table in front of her. She took another look around. The Paddrasean archives were large, actually housed separately to the temple, inside the mountain above and behind it. Shelves and stores of books, scrolls and other data storage units were kept under lock and key. It was a vast library of not only Paddra's history, but the other tribes—not limited to the main four. The knowledge stored dated back almost to before the people of Gran Pulse divided, leading to the birth of Cocoon.

Vanille had decided to see if she could find anything related to what had happened with the Paddrasean artifact. While the Paddrasean Archives weren't strictly limited to the people of Paddra, it took quite a bit to warrant a visit. However, being the leader and representative of Oerba, she was granted access relatively easily.

At the beginning of her search, she wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for and had been perfectly aware that one couldn't simply glance through the Paddrasean archives. No, without something—anything—to go on, any searching done would've taken months. However, while it wasn't very much, Vanille had one thing, one point of reference that narrowed down her investigation. The passage in Old Pulsian. The prophecy that Lightning had read aloud.

_"To those that do not belong  
From the future that does not exist  
Take heed the rule of three  
Three strands of chaos woven together  
Three sacrifices are made  
Three keys unlock the weapon of destruction  
The power, the focus, the trigger  
And the time will come when worlds collide." _

The Oerban mumbled the words, realizing she'd recalled them perfectly after she'd completed the entire passage. It were as if the words were etched into the back of her mind. As if when the text appeared to physically move and coil itself around her arm and fade away, it embed itself into her. Unfortunately it didn't come with understanding. Which brought her back to where she was at the present moment.

Vanille let out a heavy sigh, stepping back from the cryptic thoughts spinning around in her head. She eventually noticed the two Paddrasean guards that she had escorting Aquinas. They were doing what they did best, guarding without being in the way, keeping to their own business. They were most likely out of earshot but close enough to be around should anything... undesirable happened.

Her eyes returning to land on the napping Sulyyan, Vanille let out another sigh. It was rare to see Aquinas so still, so quiet. She was a bigger handful than Fang. They both gave her more grief than needed but at least Fang was always at her side. Aquinas was not Oerban, therefor Vanille had less control over the her safety. Not that she had any qualms that the Sulyyan could take care of herself. Like with Fang, she respected Aquinas' ability to hold her own. But it didn't stop her worrying—about either of them.

As she rose from her seat to stretch her legs, she wondered about Fang. And Lightning. She had always been close to Fang. Their bond was understood by no one and not easily described. But when they had found Lightning and as she had spent more time with them, Vanille began to notice something different but just as intensely complex between Fang and the pinkette. Something growing? No, that wasn't really accurate... It were as if it were already there they were just remembering it as if it had been forgotten. But Fang had never been to Cocoon, and Lightning's arrival on Gran Pulse was most definitely not intentional on her part-

"Gaahaaaaaah!" A suddenly clatter and thud from behind her snapped Vanille's attention back to the table. For a moment she wondered why now there was only her chair and no Aquinas. Moving around to view the other side of the table, she was greeted with the sight of the Sulyyan, sprawled on her back, half on the chair, on the ground. Another choked laugh escaped her throat.

"Let me guess," The Oerban raised a brow at Aquinas, "The ground broke your fall?"

"C-Course not," Aquinas, noticing Vanille standing over her, attempted to hide a flush of her cheeks before turning away, "I was just... making myself more comfortable." She huffed, crossing a leg over the other and sliding her hands under her head, making no attempt to get up. Vanille gave in to the sudden urge to continue teasing the Sulyyan. Stepping over and bending to look directly down at Aquinas, she put on her most innocent smile.

"Oh? Maybe I should join you down there then?"

"-Wha-?!" The faux-smug expression on Aquinas' face suddenly dropped before she suddenly scrambled to her feet, tossing the book she'd fallen with, on the table, "Gotta say, when I decided to tag along with you, I didn't expect you'd want to be spending the entire evening n the archives."

"Really? And how did you expect to spend the evening with me?" Vanille held back another laugh as the Sulyyan's face reddened even more—her pale skin not helping her in the least.

Vanille had heard of many impressions others had of her—Oerban or not. Kind, inexperienced, naïve, child-like; not many knew about her playful side—her un-child-like playful side. And even less had experienced it first hand. In fact, pretty much the only two that were ever 'lucky' enough to do so on a regular basis were Fang and Aquinas. In recent years, her closeness with the taller Oerban had resulted in Fang growing more accustomed to it, making the Sulyyan an easier and much more amusing target for Vanille.

Watching Aquinas grumble to herself, Vanille noticed the tired look in her eyes—a different sort of tired than one would get spending hours looking at old information. The Oerban frowned slightly, silently berating herself for not thinking more about Aquinas' energy. Clearing her throat, Vanille moved back around to her side of the table.

"I suppose it is getting late, maybe you should go get some rest." While she knew she had some level of control over Aquinas, Vanille knew when a more subtle approach was better suited to dealing with the Sulyyan, "I can finish up here on my own." She caught the slightly confused look on Aquinas' face.

"I'm fine." The Sulyyan mumbled, almost apologetically, picking up a scroll and fiddling with It.

"We've been at it for hours, I probably won't be much longer myself." Vanille pushed a little more with a half-lie, "Maybe you could get something to eat. Or at least visit the temple waters?" It was a suggestion but her voice took a more forceful tone. The temple waters were a series of pools of water that flowed through the mountain it was built out of. For Aquinas, bearing a Sulyyan's natural affinity with water, it was the best possible place in the temple for her to recharge ...literally-

"I said I'm fine." Aquinas repeated, irritation growing evident in her voice.

"We still have another round of negotiations tomorrow morning." Vanille sat in her chair, barely able to see Aquinas over the piles of data on the table, "You'd benefit from the rest."

At the mention of the day's proceedings, both of them let out a heavy sigh. Attempting negotiations so soon after the attack on the Priestess' proved as difficult as anticipated. No one—whether from Cocoon or Gran Pulse—could get a sentence out without one accusing the other of being the reason for the sudden outburst of violence. If that weren't bad enough, tension between the Gran Pulsian tribes seemed to have intensified with each passing hour—particularly between the Taejins and the Sulyyan. Vanille had given thanks for the fact that while the Taejins were hasty and lived off picking fights, even they didn't dare try anything during the diplomatic meeting. However, if looks could kill…

"I think that was the longest I've spent with someone staring at me like they wanted to chew me up and spit me back out onto the table…" Aquinas mumbled, her thoughts on the same thing, "I don't think even Fang coulda glared at me for that long without pause."

"I doubt they'd try anything while the negotiations are going on." Vanille voiced her theory, "Given you stay out of their way and don't provoke them." Her tone remained the same but the look she gave Aquinas did not go unnoticed. The Sulyyan's eyes widened.

"Wha-?! You say that as if I go around doing stuff like that on purpose!" Vanille merely raised an eyebrow. Aquinas' mouth opened and closed a few times as an argumentative comeback failed again and again to form, "I do not!" Vanille shifted her weight, her eyes not leaving the Sulyyans, "…not on purpose, anyway." Came the muttered resignation.

"Their obvious hostility toward you aside, the Taejins' attitude towards the Palamecians today is a little concerning." Vanille began to think aloud, replaying the better part of the afternoon in her head.

"If by 'attitude' you mean snapping at biting at them verbally after anything and everything they say, isn't that normal?" Aquinas hopped to sit on the table, playing with a set of old documents, "Y'know, the whole 'natural enemies 'bit."

"Maybe true," Vanille continued, pulling the documents from Aquinas before she could mess with it. She placed it on the table and leaned against the side, still half-deep in thought, "But their enmity towards them was significantly… subdued." She was not too far into her own thoughts that she missed a confused look cross Aquinas' face, "It was like…they were almost wary of pushing the Palamecian's too hard." At that point, the Sulyyan let out a laugh.

"The Taejins? Wary? Of anything?" The snarky tone didn't seem to register with the Oerban—or if it did, she chose to ignore it.

"Which is why it was a little concerning." In actuality Vanille agreed with Aquinas' insinuation. The Taejins were headstrong, stubborn, battle-crazed and violent which meant that if they didn't like something or—as it were, much more often—someone, they hated them and would have no qualms whatsoever making that fact known. They were not the type of people to hold back on the account of concern towards the reaction of whatever or whoever it was they disliked.

That's what it was, Vanille reached a realization. It were as though they were suspicious of the Palamecians, As if they knew the visitors from Cocoon knew something they shouldn't—and to keep as much distance from them as possible, they also toned down their aggression. The entire idea seemed as silly as Aquinas suggested but the Oerban couldn't let go of the feeling that it was what had been going on since they started talks between the leaders that day.

"You think something happened between them?" Aquinas suggested, turning and fiddling with a pile of books. She ran a finger down from the top, stopping to play with a bookmark attached to a larger book near the bottom of the pile.

"I'm not sure." Vanille answered honestly, "But I think it has more to do with the fact that we're dealing with Palamecians and not the Sanctum. The Taejins seem to react differently between the two factions…" The Oerban held out a hand to prevent the toppling of the pile of books Aquinas was playing with. She slid the pile away from the Sulyyan, out of her reach, "Like they're suspicious of the Palamecians—whether it's from this being the first time we've met them in a formal setting or for other reasons, I can't tell for certain.

"Well other than the fancy toys and clothes, and being prissier than some of the Paddraseans, I don't see anything particularly special about them." Aquinas shrugged, somehow managing to find a scroll out of nowhere, playing with it in her hands, "Going off of some of the horror stories you hear about them, I daresay I'm disappointed." The statement was meant in a jesting matter but there was a heavy, slightly dark tone in the Sulyyan's voice. Vanille noticed it immediately and felt a pang of regret of putting too much focus on the Palamecians. She decided to try and guide the conversation in a different direction. She retrieved the scroll from Aquinas and placed it atop the pile of books. The Sulyyan pouted.

"Y'know what bugs me…" Aquinas' pout vanished along with the somber tone in her voice, "No one seemed to question why your personal guard and—probably more suspicious—your 'guest', weren't around for the entirety of the negotiations." Vanille had noticed it as well. Not once was it brought up that Fang, who she was rarely seen without, and Lightning, who was treated by almost as much suspicion as the Palamecians, were both missing the entire time. Something happening between the Taejins and the Palamecian could have explained the distraction but even when Yeul and Caius joined the meeting, they hadn't mentioned anything. Not just that, the entire subject of what had happened during the festival was barely touched when the Paddrasean representative joined them. Despite it being a partial cause for the increasingly strained talks, the event was hardly mentioned—avoided almost. The more she thought about it, the more the negotiations seemed to be a front for something a lot more sinister going on behind the scenes. What and by whom she wasn't sure but whatever it was, couldn't be good.

"Maybe the Paddraseans figured out who the Taejins are working with." Aquinas' theory broke through the cloud of thoughts filling Vanille's mind, "I mean… their know-it-all attitudes and shiny toys can't be completely for show, right?" Aquinas reached to start playing with the scroll against but Vanille gently but firmly held her hand away, thoughts beginning to race again, "They were around during the explosion weren't they? Maybe they picked up on something? And maybe the Taejins found out."

"Come to think of it, the Knight-Commander did send most of his knights away., back to Cocoon..." The Oerban briefly recalled Lightning's plan to get to Cocoon. She hadn't gone into any extreme detail but she'd mentioned a shuttle and its departure to transport over half the Palamecian knights off Gran Pulse. There hadn't been time to go into much more detail, apparently the Knight Commander's decision had been spontaneous and the need for it to be carried out, urgent.

"Still, it's a lot of 'maybe's…" The Oerban sighed heavily again, shaking her head, "But certain circumstances have definitely changed since the attempt on the Yeul's life."

"Ya think?" Aquinas scoffed, motioning to Vanille's arm, "Bet neither the Taejins, nor Palamecians got quite the light show that you, Fang and Lightning got—or the fancy floating tattoos. Or the ability to suddenly read and understand Old Pulsian perfectly..." She raised her hands at the look Vanille gave her, "I'm just saying..." At that point Vanille decided the little 'break' needed to end. Aquinas' attention span—already broken—would not easily be re-focused. The Oerban waved the Paddrasean guards over.

"Please escort Aquinas to the temple waters." She ignored the defiant look that flashed across the Sulyyan's face.

"You want me wet that badly?" The question registered just fine in Vanille's head but a second thought caused her to look over at the Sulyyan, eyebrow raised once more. Aquinas' frowning face slowly turned bright red again as she realized how the question sounded. Vanille didn't answer it. She just sat there, laughing on the inside. Right... the reason Aquinas was so much easier to 'play' with was she practically did all the work herself. With another grumble, Aquinas turned and began walking away.

"You stay with Vanille." She said, briefly pausing and motioning to one of the guards, "One babysitter is fine." She gave Vanille a look over her shoulder. The guard looked to the Oerban who just sighed and nodded. With another huff, Aquinas continued on her way out of the archives.

Watching until the Sulyyan was out of sight, Vanille looked over at the guard and motioned for him to follow them. As if he'd anticipated the instruction to follow Aquinas anyway, he gave a quick nod of understanding before turning and proceeding after the two that had just left.

The Oerban stretched once more before settling back in her seat, focus on her original task slowly returning. She had initially begun looking up anything and everything to do with the legend she'd discussed with the others right before their... 'interaction' with the Paddrasean artifact. While it was mentioned plenty, it was more in reference to it. And if it were a supposed 'record' of it, there were just as many different versions. And like Aquinas had told Lightning, the only recurrent themes were a chosen one, tears of Etro and three elements or keys. She swallowed as she recalled them. Correction:

Vanille had then attempted to focus on the three common factors that reoccurred with each telling of the legend. In none of what she'd read had she found anything specific enough to have been directly referred to the _'Chosen One'_—though different alterations of the title had popped up. The _'Fallen One'_ began appearing as she looked at older data and even farther back there was the _'Revenant'_. But the title of the character mattered little when there was nothing else about it recorded other than it seemed to take on a more ominous connotation farther back in history.

_'Tears of Etro'_ insinuated the crystals of which were scattered throughout Gran Pulse, which were used many different ways and held much significance to plenty of Gran Pulsians so that search turned out disappointing.

When she'd started researching the three elements or keys it was like hitting a stone wall. In every version of the legend—every reference to it—there was a mention of them, without fail. But nothing more. They were always referred to as either elements, components or keys and that was it. This fact, in itself, was as bizarre as it was frustrating. Never any other explanation, no other descriptions, not a single speculation as to what they could have been, what they were... no, what they are-

Vanille's train of thought derailed as a set of footsteps echoed down the row of shelves the table was sitting in. She turned to look in the direction of the sound. The archives were lit dimly by lamps hanging from the ceiling but the shadows weren't nearly dark enough to obscure much of anything. Chalking it up to her tiredness, Vanille turned back to the scroll. Not a moment after she'd done so, there was another scampering of footsteps, this time from an adjacent row. There was no doubt this time—she'd definitely heard… something.

"Hello?" She called, waiting for a response. It didn't surprise her when none came. She stood up slowly, trying to make as little sound as possible in case there was any more movement. She had a brief urge to call out Aquinas' name but she was already almost positive it wasn't the Sulyyan. Aquinas was childish but teasing through scampering around in a dimly lit hall was below even her. Again, there was another flurry of footsteps, this time in the opposite direction of the first and this time accompanied by faint, child-like laughter. Vanille whirled around, still seeing nothing but shelves and tables, "Who's there?" She called despite realizing receiving an answer was probably futile.

The air had gotten chilly and hairs on the back of her neck rose straight up. She wasn't quite scared but there was definite unease as she began moving in the direction of where she'd last heard the movement. As she reached an intersection of sorts, none of the connecting rows revealed anything different from the first.

"I must be more tired than I thought…" The Oerban muttered, turning to return to the table. She managed three steps before she felt the air directly behind her move. She whirled around, so fast her head spun for a second. Nothing. At least until there was a clatter of a few books falling onto the ground from a shelf to her right. Snapping her head towards the sound, she finally saw something. A small figure dart around the corner at the end of the row, "Hey!" She called, immediately breaking into a run towards whatever it was—whoever it was, Vanille corrected herself as she heard another laugh. Definitely a child. She got to the corner but skidding around it she was met with another empty row.

"Alright, this is getting ridiculous…" She mumbled. After a second or two she once again, felt a chill, this time directly hitting her square in the back, spread up and down her spine. Someone was behind her. She found herself holding a breath as she slowly turned. Her eyes fell upon a small boy, perhaps a dozen feet away from her. His skin was dark, as was his hair that poofed up and out of his head. His attire was strange—it could have passed as Paddrasean but it was still unlike any she'd seen before despite the rush of nostalgia it invoked. Maroon pants attached to a section that covered his torso, held up by straps over his shoulders, these over a hooded jacket or sorts—both garments maybe a tad large for his small frame. In his hands he held something but they were cupped too tight for Vanille to see what it was.

"Hi there." The Oerban finally found her voice, taking a step towards the boy. Though the boy was smiling, his eyes looked empty. Vanille immediately judged such eyes were not meant to carry such hollowness. It was eerie and unnerving but Vanille found she couldn't look away, "Who are you, little one?" She called to him again. The boy took a step back once she drew closer than six feet. Vanille stopped moving, noticing this, "What are you doing here?" No answer. The boy merely kept staring at her with an empty smile. Another series of chills shot up Vanille's spine. Ignoring it, she began moving towards him again.

"Can I see what you've got there-?" As she stepped where there was about three feet between them, he turned and darted away—faster than she'd have thought possible. She found herself unable to resist the urge to chase him. There was another haunting laugh as he turned another corner. As she rounded it herself, she found herself walking out into an area leading to a large opening in the side of the wall. It spanned the entire back side of the archives. It was a sort of naturally-made balcony of sorts, overlooking the temple and Paddra. It was actually formed so it couldn't easily be seen from the temple below and even less so from the city.

Catching herself before getting lost in the view, Vanille noted the boy was nowhere to be seen. However, at the edge of the balcony, something small caught her attention. She squinted through the shadows cast between the light from the archives lamps and natural light from the outside as she took a few steps towards it. A chocobo chick? It seemed to be moving but what In the world was it doing there? Was that what the boy had been holding? Vanille slowly approached the small animal. It appeared to be admiring the view, occasionally hopping in one direction or the other. Eventually it seemed to realize someone approaching from behind and turned as Vanille stopped about three feet from it. The Oerban knelt down, taking a closer look at the chick. It seemed perfectly normal, nothing out of the ordinary except the fact of where it was.

"What is going on here…?" Vanille shuffled nearer, reaching for it. The chick didn't retreat but made no move to meet her hand either. Continuing closer, Vanille eventually noticed it seemed to have stopped moving. She paused in her advancement, confused as it merely turned and stared directly at her.

Something in her gut immediately told her something was terribly wrong as the tiny chocobo's mouth slowly fell open. No sound came out; instead it just seemed to continue grow. Pulling her hand back, Vanille watched in increasing horror as the baby chocobo's mouth seemed to stretch disturbingly out of proportion. There was sound now, but all it was, was the sound of what could only have been snapping bones, tearing muscle and gargling liquids—much too loud to be coming from such a small creature. Vanille wanted to look away but found she could not. Soon all she could see was the darkness inside—and not a second later something began wriggling out of it. Letting out a sharp yelp, the Oerban scuttled backwards as whatever it was tore its way out from the chick, leaving none of it behind.

While it was only for a brief moment, the image of what had burst from the chocobo chick seared itself into the depths of Vanille's mind. Unmistakeably winged, it's 'wings' were ripped and torn, spanned at least two feet each. Its relatively small, misshapen body looked like a twisted mesh of rotten flesh, rock and crystal—a bright red gem flashed from its center. It's appearance was matched with it's presence instilling a heavy rush of agony and anguish into Vanille's mind.

The Oerban barely saw it flap once before there was a deafening screech as it swooped forward, right at her—right _into_ her. Vanille screamed, shutting her eyes, throwing her hands in front of her face. She twisted on reflex as she was thrown backwards, her side hitting the ground as she kept her arms up, shielding her head and torso. She'd already curled into a protective ball when she realized she still hadn't felt anything actually push her. The screech had been briefly drowned out by her own scream and once she'd stopped, there was silence.

Slowly lifting her head, she saw nothing, felt nothing, heard nothing. Swallowing the lump in her throat she lowered her arms and slowly sat up, looking towards the edge of the balcony. With shaky breaths Vanille pulled herself to her feet, as she stood, facing back into the archives she was met with someone else. The same boy from before only... older? He stood taller than her now, grown out, wearing attire that was a little more familiar—almost Oerban. She couldn't speak, she was still trying to calm her breathing and attempting to prevent her mind from completely imploding in on itself. She merely stared at him.

The boy eventually moved first, lifting and arm and pointing, directly at her. Vanille frowned, confused, instinctively putting a hand over her chest. He didn't speak, merely continued to point. And stare. She peered into his dark eyes. So empty, she thought, even more so than before. The blank eyes were staring right back at her. No, that wasn't quite right. Vanille relaxed her frown when she realized it were as if he were staring past her—no, _through_ her.

She turned around and was met by the view of the Paddrasean valley again, a gentle breeze reminding her where she was. The city lights below were framed perfectly by the darkened mountains. Too dark, Vanille suddenly thought, They were usually touched by at least some moonlight—from the both the natural one and the man-made one in the sky. When her eyes shifted upward, they widened.

Horror and dread once again took hold of her body as she saw Cocoon. It was split right down the middle, one of the halves split again. The face she could see was flickering like a lamp sputtering out of energy. The wind had picked up and as it blew past her ears, a faint sound was carried on it. For the moment it was too quiet for her to comprehend and she was in too much shock seeing Cocoon in pieces. In pieces and falling.

A choked cry escaped her throat as she realized the large moon was slowly descending towards Gran Pulse. Her mind flashed to Fang and Lightning. What had happened?! They were still on Cocoon, weren't they?! As her eyes darted from the moon down to where it would eventually crash, pure panic filled her veins.

"Oerba..." She whimpered, remembering Oerba was probably the closest to the area directly under Cocoon; followed by Taejin Tower, then Sulyya, then Paddra. But the force of a moon that size crashing into Gran Pulse, the destruction would most definitely reach all four of the tribes' territories. Another strangled sob seemed to focus her hearing. The sound she was hearing, carried on the wind, was a faint voice. No, more than one. Voices, a lot of them—an endless number—screaming in fear. As the chunks of Cocoon neared the ground, it only increased in intensity. While still as faint as a whisper, it filled Vanille's ears, amplifying the terror wracking her body.

"No." The word left her mouth just as the moon collided with the ground.

There were a second where time seemed to stop before there was the sound of cracking rock and shattering glass. It was earsplitting, world-shattering—literally. Vanille fell to her knees and covered her ears but it did nothing to block out the sound of massive destruction. The echoes of wails and cries carried on the wind were now joined by Vanille's own screams and she was forced to watch the fiery devastation engulf the area where Cocoon had crashed and spread outward, swallowing everything in its path. Smaller pieces of the broken moon were thrown outward, crashing and creating their own smaller pockets of death and destruction.

"No, no, no, no, no..." Vanille chanted, at this point her arms fell to the ground, her body sucked of all ability to move. Tears formed in her eyes, flooding them before rolling down her shaking cheeks. Her blurred vision did little to block out the sound of Gran Pulse splitting outward from where Cocoon had collided with it. A crevasse cut through and opened up all the way to and through Paddra, devouring the land, buildings and people in it. The ground was surely shaking but Vanille didn't feel it. She felt nothing but fear, anguish, despair and agony—both her own and that of the tens of thousands of dying Gran Pulsians. Like Cocoon, her heart broke and burned as everything she'd known and loved was destroyed in a matter of minutes.

A second later the tear in the world reached the temple and the mountain behind it. Vanille heard a sickening snap as the ground below her opened up to swallow her whole. Weightlessness overtaking her body, she was unable to resist as she began to fall.

"VANILLE?!" A loud, crystal clear voice broke through everything; the screams and destruction. The Oerban sucked in a breath as she suddenly felt a tug on her arm followed by a grip around her entire body, "VANILLE!" The voice called again, this time followed by complete silence.

Vanille blinked through the hot tears still flowing form her eyes. The blurred vision slowly revealing the owner of the voice.

"A-Aqui..." She murmured. Her senses slowly returning, she felt herself still on the balcony, facing into the archives, her back to the edge. The ground was perfectly intact, the cool breeze through her hair carried no screams, no sounds of the world ending. She turned her head towards the sky. Cocoon sat where it always was, always had been. It's pale surface was nowhere near as vibrant as the real moon but it was perfectly intact, still glowing with the lives of the citizens that lived within it.

"-the hell were you doing?!" Aquinas' voice drifted back into her consciousness, "I finally lose the two babysitters and get back here to find you wandering off the edge-Vanille! Look at me!" The panic in the Sulyyan's voice snapped Vanille back to full attention. She'd been dreaming? It had been so real, felt so real. So much chaos, so much destruction and death.

As she met silver eyes—darkened with fear—she broke down. Throwing her arms around Aquinas she began to cry.

"V-Vanille?!" After a few moments pause, the Oerban vaguely registered Aquinas return the embrace hesitantly, "H-Hey... it's okay, you're okay..." The words were filled with confusion but were somewhat calming none-the-less. The despair that had clawed it's way into her heart and soul slowly began to retreat as she focused on the very real feeling of Aquinas soothing her with a hug and gentle rub across her back.

When the tears finally began to stop and the aftershock of the experience had worn off, Vanille pulled away from Aquinas. The Sulyyan's expression of concern had lessened a fraction but she was still frowning as she brushed away the last few tears.

"It's been a while since the chief of Oerba's been a scared little girl." Vanille looked up at Aquinas, sat back, her shoulders slumping, "Seriously... you push me so hard to rest then turn around and find a way to completely stress me out."

"Sorry." Vanille mumbled. She felt a familiar pang of frustration towards herself regarding her effect on the Sulyyan's well-being.

"A-Aah-" The Oerban saw regret immediately cross Aquinas' features as if realizing she'd said something wrong, "Well... you can make it up to me if you tell me what happened." Vanille felt Aquinas shift her position to sit cross legged in front of her, "What did you see?" At this point Vanille knew she couldn't talk her way out of this one—even if she tried. Echoes of the experience still remained in her mind and Aquinas had already seen how severely it had effected her

"I..."

"You saw the vision from the artifact again, didn't you?" Aquinas wasted no time reaching for the truth.

"Yes..." Vanille began, "...and no." Aquinas's brow furrowed in confusion. Vanille licked her dry lips, searching for the right words to describe something she wished so much she didn't have to. But she had little doubt if she refused to do so, Aquinas would resort to taking matters into her own hands—literally. And Vanille refused let the Sulyyan share the experience.

"So... how was it the same?" Aquinas continued to pry.

"It was of the future..." Vanille replied numbly without really thinking about it.

"And... how was it different?"

"It was worse."

* * *

**A/N:.**

Yeah, yeah, yeah I know y'all wanna know what's going on with the FLightness but let me have some Vanille time mmkay?  
The last chapter was flipping 9k words! And it was a pain in the ass to write...

*grumble* Stupid chapters with minds of their own. *grumble*

ANYway, yeah, here's another chapter.  
I added some nightmare fuel for you.  
You don't like it? Why don't YOU write the story? Hmm?

What's that? "Why am I in a bad mood?"  
I'm not in a bad mood... What could possible give you _that _idea?


	20. Verge

**.:.:: Chapter 19  
.:.:: Verge**

* * *

_A crystal shard floated among a dark red mass, slowly pulsating with a dull light. The flashes were slow but steady—as if mimicking a heartbeat. No, accompanying a heartbeat, for faint thumps in time with the pulses of light began to fade into the foreground. Eventually it seemed as though the crystal shard was a heart, as light from it began shooting through veins, now apparent in the increasing glow. Moments later, the speed of the beats began to increase, the pause between each one, shortening. Quicker and faster, the crystal's luminosity growing strong still. As the pulses grew quicker, the crystal seemed to crack, dark lines streaming from it, twisting, wrapping, coiling themselves around the veins, around the crystal itself. It began to block the light emanating from it, snapping the veins connected to it. Soon the crystal split completely down the middle, darkness seeping forth, devouring the light and swallowing the area in darkness._

Lightning gasped for air as consciousness returned to her. Consciousness accompanied by a searing pain in her head and left shoulder. She choked, tasting blood as she sputtered and attempted to clear her airway. She began to open her eyes but large, heavy droplets of water denied the pinkette her sight. She was on her back, from what she could tell, in a shallow pool of water—water from the rain that was blanketing the area. Rain? She was outside? Slowly the recollection of recent events seeped into her like the water she lay in. Cocoon, Sanctum, Palamecia, the teleporter, the explosion-

"Fang." The name left her lips without her thinking. She immediately attempted to move her body, ignoring the bombardment of sharp stabs in the back of her head with every inch she shifted. She was outdoors, the slush under her felt like flooded dirt and the air smelled fresh, untouched by technology. It smelled different than even the wildlife on Cocoon. She fell back on her arms, eyes turning to the sky, squinting through the torrent of rain. There was nothing but a whirlpool of grey in the sky above, though there was also a strange red tint. However, forcing herself to focus she eventually caught it. The faint outline of the man-made moon.

She was on Gran Pulse.

Collapsing on her back, almost in relief, the pinkette sucked in a few more deep breaths. She'd lost consciousness quickly after being blown backward by the explosion; apparently it was enough to throw her into the teleporter beam. She had managed to grab Fang's arm briefly before the force of the teleport pulled them apart. Her body tensed up again. Fang.

Rolling onto her front, she glanced around the immediate area. Water, tree roots and long grass obscured a bit of her vision but from what she could tell she'd ended up in an indistinguishable part of a forest—though she noted the trees didn't seem too thickly packed. There was still a red tint to everything, similar to the sky. Perhaps she had a concussion? She tried to blink it away but the rain kept her from completely clearing her eyes. She decided to ignore it for now as she continued her survey of the area. Debris from the explosion littered the area around her, scraps of metal, chunks of glass and shards of crystal embed itself into the ground and the trees—charred wood revealing where the more fiery parts had stuck before sizzling out in the rain.

A loud cough drew her attention to her left, nearer a tighter grouping of trees. From behind one of the larger tree roots she saw a figure crawl out from behind it. Covered in dirt, uniform torn at the sleeves and across the back, hair matted to their face, Lightning still immediately recognized them.

"Fang-" She moved to get to her feet but the pain in her shoulder shot through, twice as severe as before, "-Gahh." She cried, falling back onto her other side. She went to clutch at her shoulder but suddenly felt her hand graze something sharp. Looked over, she saw a shard of glass, at least three inches wide, protruding from her flesh. Blood coated her hand as she pulled it away. She swore, the burning sensation in her shoulder intensifying. She shut both eyes tight, counted to five, enduring the pain. At five, she forced her body upright and looked down at the wound again. Ripping the torn sleeve off her left arm, she prepared to use it to block the blood before slowly gripping the edges of the jagged fragment buried in her shoulder.

With a few short, sharp breaths, she pulled, hard and fast. Removing it from her shoulder was not a concern so much as the pain that came with it. As if being impaled again, her shoulder stung as the glass left her—and only intensified when she pushed the shredded uniform sleeve to it. She bit her lip, suppressing the whimper that left her throat. The rain on her back ironically soothing as she grew accustomed to the stinging of the wound.

Tightening her jaw she moved again, pulling herself slowly to her feet. She continued to stumble her way toward the other figure still unmoving, sprawl among the tree roots. She collapsed against one, forced to pull herself over it. Her limbs not moving any way she wanted them to, she ended up rolling over the other side, barely managing to avoid landing on her injured shoulder.

"Fang?" She examined the woman she'd landed a foot away from. Other than the tears and rips in the uniform she wore and the superficial cuts and bruises under them, the Oerban didn't appear to have any major injuries—definitely no sharp clear objects protruding from her. But she didn't seem conscious, "Fang!" Lightning urged, moving over to check the other woman's pulse. Still beating, still strong. She left out a breath of relief, "Fang, snap out of it." She gently tapped the side of the Gran Pulsian's face, "Come on Fang wake up." She paused to look around for anywhere they could get out of the rain; the trees above gave little cover.

"Guh-!" Fang seemed to jolt awake, gasps of air replacing the silence.

"Fang." Lightning helped her sit up as she coughed and sputtered water she'd inhaled, "It's alright, just breath, it's okay." Watching the Oerban slowly calm herself, the pinkette looked around again. Nothing but trees surrounded them. They weren't in completely fit shape to be wandering around the wilds but they couldn't just sit there. And the rainstorm didn't seem like it was going to let up any time soon.

"Gran... Pulse?" Fang croaked, speaking before she'd recovered control of her voice. Lightning already had begun helping the dazed native to her feet.

"Yeah, c'mon, we have to get out of the rain." Lightning adjusted her position to swing Fang's arm over her shoulder, "C'mon you've gotta stand, Fang." She urged as she forced her muscles to pull the both of them up. After a few moments of struggle, the two of them managed to get to their feet. Fang seemed to remain upright on her own but made no move to pull away from Lightning. And the pinkette made no move to do so either.

"L-Light..." The Oerban murmured. Lightning could only assume she may have gotten a concussion during their 'landing'. She had to get them somewhere more dry and safe before she could really do any more evaluation.

"Fang, Fang do you recognize the area." She didn't really expect and answer, nor did she really get one—other than another set of mumbles to in which all that really came through was her name. She decided she'd have to find shelter on her own for now, "Okay... Okay, just stay with me, okay?" She wrapped and arm around the Oerban's waist to keep her close as she once again, took a look around.

It was getting harder and harder to make anything out as the rain continued to pour. Trees, trees, more trees. No path or indication that any direction would lead her anywhere different. Though for a split second, out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of white. Squinting through sheets of water she tried to find it again. Eventually she did, a white figure on the other side of some particularly thick foliage leading up a slight slope. She reminded herself they were on Gran Pulse—the likelihood that whatever it was, was a more immediate threat than the rain.

Her eyes darted around for a place to take cover but despite the mass of trees surrounding them, none would really provide much in terms of protection. She swallowed as she saw the figure begin to move. Her body froze up—not quite out of fear, but out of the inability to think more than two seconds ahead. Her mind was still not working at full capacity. She tried to force her focus but all it did was make her head hurt more, and the pain in her shoulder return.

Slowly as it appeared in full view every muscle in her body tensed—for an entirely different reason. The creature was not just white, it was glowing. The glow made what should have been impossible to see through the downpour: Four hooved legs; a body emanating both power and elegance; a long, maned neck and head turned towards her. A horse? It's body was pure white but the glow around it tinted it green and gold, it's tail and mane more apparently so.

Lightning found her throat dry despite the forced intake of rainwater minutes before. A horse on Gran Pulse was bizarre in itself—and one of this particular... breed? She'd never seen anything quite like it. She had seen white stallions but it were as if this particular creature was something else altogether. At that point she realized she'd already written off the possibility of hostility towards her. Any anxiety Lightning had felt before had already been washed away in the rain; As if she knew this creature meant no harm. Which is why when it turned and began walking into the trees once more, she almost immediately moved to follow it.

Lightning had no doubt it were aware of her presence. In fact, somehow she felt it had sought her out with the sole intention of leading her away from where she and Fang had ended up. But how? And why? She couldn't get very far in forming possible answers as she noticed the horse had stopped moving. It was about two dozen feet away but it's neck and head were turned to look over its shoulder back towards her. She blinked, confused at the sudden stop. It was still raining and they were still in the middle of the woods. She watched as the creature lowered it's neck to the ground and stamped it's front right hoof. Lightning found herself shaking her head, as if trying to tell it she didn't understand. She moved to take another step but found her foot hit something as she did so. Looking down she saw, half submerged in rainwater, was the pack she'd taken from the Sanctum shuttle as they'd left for Cocoon.

Briefly releasing her hold on Fang to pick the pack up, she pulled it over her shoulder. Had it always been this heavy? She looked back up toward the horse in time to see it already beginning to move away again. Quickly returning her arm around the still-dazed Oerban she continued to follow it. It led her through a thick patch of trees and up a shallow slope—which proved to be more perilous than one would have thought due to the rain that coat the face of it. It would have been a hassle for Lightning alone but having to guide a stumbling Fang as well, the pinkette was about ready to collapse by the time she'd reached the top.

However, as she did, she saw her guide had stopped and was standing facing her now. It stood in front of an opening in a rock face. It was shrouded in foliage and a steady stream of water fell across the opening but it was clearly an entrance to a sheltered area. And Lightning couldn't afford to be picky. A clap of thunder and flash of lightning caused the pinkette to blink in bewilderment—not because of the forces of nature themselves, but because in that split second, the creature had disappeared. One moment it was standing there, the next it was simply gone. Another clap of thunder forced her forward, pulling Fang towards the cave.

As they made it inside Lightning found it was unusually warm. While water shielded the opening like a small waterfall the inside was almost completely dry. A mix of dirt and leaves layered the ground, the cave walls solid stone. The opening was barely high enough for Lightning to stumble through but as she took a few steps deeper in, it opened up to where the 'ceiling' was at least four feet above her. The only light was from the outside—at first.

As the pinkette gently lowered Fang to the ground, she suddenly noticed the area begin to glow. Eyes darting around for the source, she was unsuccessful for it seemed there was no real source of the light, the cave just began to illuminate itself—like the walls themselves were glowing. The warmth had also increased slightly, something Lightning was silently thankful for as it had finally sunk into her mind that she had no means to create a fire.

Dropping the pack off her shoulder Lightning turned back to Fang, who hadn't moved. With better light and without the rain getting in the way, the pinkette took another look over Fang's injuries. There was a cut down the side of the Oerban's face, and a few deeper wounds that would need at least some cleaning along her right arm but mostly it was as she'd seen back near where they'd fallen—nothing life threatening. Still, the more serious cuts would need at least some work. Not to mention her own shoulder. Lightning winced as a sharp pain reminded her of her own injury.

The pinkette unzipped the pack at her side and examined the contents. It had held well despite the circumstances. The inside was dry and most of the contents were more or less undamaged. She rummaged around before she found the first aid pack she had taken from the storage containers in the Palamecian teleporter room. It wasn't much but if she used it right she'd at least have enough to keep infection from both of her and Fang's wounds. Moving to sit at Fang's side, she began to patch the Oerban up.

Neither of them spoke for a long time, the sound of the rain outside the only noise that echoed through the cave—though quietly, soothing almost. Lightning had patched Fang up quickly. Just as she finished, she noticed a trickle of wetness down the side of her head and a stinging around her eye as her vision once again tinted red. Her right eye was forced closed as she examined it, gently feeling the gash that wrapped around it. Cleaning it quickly, she decided it would be easier to dress the cut by wrapping the bandages around her entire head, which meant covering her eye in the process. Surprisingly it didn't seem all that bizarre only having half her vision.

Her shoulder had taken a little longer, having to wrap it with more or less one hand but eventually she managed to clean and bandage the wound. She'd had to rip the entire sleeve off but the cave had gotten warm enough to where it mattered little—even with her clothes still damp. Come to think of it, her Oerban attire was still in the pack as well, perfectly dry. She found them in a tangle along with Fang's sari. Her thoughts immediately screeched to a halt. The Oerban was still out of it, it seemed, switching between murmuring and dozing off. If they were to change out of the Sanctum uniforms, Lightning would have to help Fang out of hers.

The thought suddenly made her throat even drier, and the cave got that much warmer.

Lightning resigned to leaving the dry clothes for later and instead, sitting next to Fang against the wall, hoping body heat would be enough until the Oerban regained her senses. Lightning had occasionally started dozing off herself. Soon she'd forgotten for how long and the number of times. The rain didn't seem to be stopping, even as the light from outside the cave grew dimmer. The one time Lightning was long enough to process more than the blurred walls and the sound of running water, she saw outside was almost completely dark.

"You awake?" A voice near her ear jarred her fully awake. She practically threw herself to the side, unfortunately hitting her left side against the wall causing her to yelp in pain. She clutched her bandaged shoulder as she slowly recovered from shock, "I'll... take that as a yes then?" An amused voice brought her attention to Fang, sitting against the same wall, staring at her with a smirk. Lightning frowned but silently noted that it didn't seem like the fall had any strongly adverse side-effects for the Gran Pulsian. She was still as irritating as ever.

"I got bored waiting for you to snap out of it." Lightning shot back, sitting up, checking that her bandages were still tight, "We're definitely on Gran Pulse but I have no idea where." She turned to Fang, seeing a concerned look in the Oerban's eyes as they focused on her shoulder. Lightning chose to avoid making a big deal about it, "The blast threw us into the teleporter, unfortunately it probably got the controls and messed up all the data and control settings, ended up putting us somewhere completely random."

"Hmm..." Fang seemed to look around the cave before glancing out the entrance, no longer shielded by the small waterfall—though it was still raining outside, "Not completely random, I recognize some of the plants outside..." She motioning up and around them, "And this cave, it's laced with crystals found in at least two of the four villages." Lightning examined the wall of the cave nearest her, "We're either near Sulyya or Paddra."

As she ran a finger along the rock, examining it closely for the first time since she'd entered, Lightning saw them. Small, tiny specks of what looked like glitter completely covered the rock—each speck giving off a tiny glow. It explained how the walls seemed to light up on their own. She recalled the temple at Paddra, how some of the hallways seemed to illuminate themselves.

"The crystals give off light?"

"Yeah, they do naturally but sometimes they react to heat as well." Fang explained, rubbing her hand against a spot on the wall. She motioned Lightning over to which the pinkette hesitated before crawling back to Fang's side. She examined where Fang had rubbed the wall. While subtle, the area had grown slightly brighter than the rest of rock. The pinkette traced her fingers along the grainy surface. She'd been around crystals since as long as she remembered, being from Cocoon and being a former Palamecian Knight but she'd never really known the extent of the properties certain crystals held. She found herself slightly ashamed that while she understood their value, she still knew little about them and never bothered or made the effort to really learn.

"These crystals are why it's so warm in here." Lightning more stated than asked, putting two and two together.

"Probably... though it usually takes more than people being around them." Fang added thoughtfully as she scanned the entirety of the cave. Her eyes eventually met Lightning's, "Though I'd attribute most of the warmth to the body heat."

It only then registered to Lightning how close the two of them were. She was kneeling about two feet from Fang, her face even closer. Her first instinct was to pull away but seeing a playful glint reflected in emerald eyes, she forced herself to stay put—though it didn't take very much effort. As she peered into the Oerban's emerald orbs she noticed they were focused rather intently on her bandaged eye. Lightning continued to remain still as she eventually felt Fang gently brush the side of her head, tracing the dressing around her temple.

"You eye..."

"It's just a cut around it." Lightning explained, vaguely noting the both of them had suddenly begun whispering at the closeness. Though clearly feeling Fang's fingers against the bandages, there was no pain from the wound under them. And despite herself, the pinkette found herself wondering what they'd feel like against her actual skin. Before she could give in to the sudden realization to pull away, Fang did so first, a strange expression crossing her face just before.

"And your shoulder?" The Oerban shifted her focus, though she turned away from Lightning, almost as if avoiding any more eye contact. Lightning could not stop the rush of disappointment as the distance between them grew.

"The blast threw a shard of glass into it." The pinkette explained, not missing the wince that flashed across Fang's face, "It looks a lot worse than it is, really."

While she was definitely back to her senses and had recovered from the shock of their rough 'landing', Lightning couldn't help but noticed the Oerban was acting far from normal. It had started back at Paddra, at the artifact but as they'd ventured to Cocoon, through the Sanctum HQ and then Palamecia her behavior had grown increasingly... sporadic. Granted, it weren't as if she'd known Fang her entire life but something deep in the back of her mind knew something was bothering Fang right at her core.

"Fang."

"Hmm?"

"What did you see?" Lightning decided to ask, "The Paddrasean artifact, what did it make you see?"

The Oerban visibly tensed. She turned toward Lightning but continued to avoid looking into her eyes, the gesture already concerning the pinkette.

"I told you, I don't know."

"Your lying-"

"The hell I am." Fang snapped but it lacked its usual bite. As if she'd admit defeat before the argument had even started. Lightning watched her run a hand through her hair as she sighed heavily, "I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't want to talk about it?" Lightning scoffed, though irritation seeped into her tone, "We're branded and given messages from an ancient crystal about the destruction of an entire world—messages that could possibly help us prevent the end of said world... and you don't want to talk about it-?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" Fang shot back, the bite returning slightly. This time she did look Lightning in the eye, "Damn your world! Damn Cocoon! It's never been anything but trouble for Gran Pulse!" The suddenly outburst took Lightning aback slightly. It seemed to have a similar effect on Fang, a split second later. Lightning remained silent as Fang sighed in frustration again, more at her outburst than at the pinkette specifically, "I see flashes..." The Oerban began, turning away again, "...flashes of... I don't know, it feels like things that have happened before in the past but... they couldn't have."

"So... you see visions of the past?" Lightning tried to understand, shuffling closer to the other woman, their voices having dropped in volume once more.

"Memories." Fang correctly quietly, swallowing audibly, "Memories that... couldn't exist." She continued, "Memories of Gran Pulse, of Cocoon, of..." She trailed off, slowly turning toward the pinkette. Lightning searched Fang's eyes. She couldn't read them. It were almost like there were a visible cloud in them that had settled in them. Despite this, the emerald eyes burned into her, with an intensity that almost scared her.

Then Fang kissed her. Fang was kissing her. Then she wasn't. The contact was so quick, so soft that Lightning wasn't actually sure it happened. Her mind raced but fell blank at the same time. She searched Fang's eyes for some—for any—kind of explanation but the cloudiness in the other woman's eyes remained, shrouding her thoughts.

"Fa-"

Lightning felt Fang's lips on hers again and this time she was sure it was happening. Coarse lips moved against her own, begging—pleading almost—for a reaction. And Lightning did react, slowly but surely, she began returning the kiss. Despite the lightheaded-ness she felt a clear sense of puzzlement at how completely natural it felt even if it had come completely out of the blue. A wave of heat hit her as she felt Fang nip at her bottom lip with her teeth. There was a sigh—she couldn't tell if it were Fang's or her own—as the kiss deepened. Lightning's heart thudded in her chest, the warmth that spread through her body from Fang was almost unbearable.

Then it ended. Her eyes fluttered open at the sudden lack of contact. The haze in her head immediately disappearing when she saw the cloudiness in Fang's eyes give way to fear and confusion. It immediately spread to her but before she could begin to process anything, the Oerban began to shuffle backward—scramble backward—away from her.

"...Fang-?"

"I'm sorry." Unease hit Lightning as the Fang's fear and confusion seemed to turn to pure dread, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The repeated phrase only enhanced Lightning's distress.

"Fang... it's... it's okay, just calm-"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The words were almost a chant now as Fang lowered her head, clutching it with her hands. Lightning moved closer, cautiously reaching for one of the Oerban's hands. As she did, it moved down as Fang suddenly clutched her chest. The Gran Pulsian's breaths grew erratic as she slowly fell on her side.

"Fang!" Dread filled Lightning completely as she turned a now convulsing Fang on her back, "Fang!" The Oerban's eyes were dark—black almost. Dark veins appeared to be spreading up her neck, reaching her jaw. The same pattern appearing in other exposed areas of her body. Lightning forced down her panic as she worked to calm Fang down. As she held the Oerban down, the pinkette took a closer look at the marks appearing on her skin. Her eyes widened when she realized it wasn't a pattern, whatever it was was under her skin—in her actual veins. Her heat dropped like a rock.

"Poison." She muttered, eyes darting around for the med kit. Fang had inhaled some of the gas the Sanctum had developed and thrown into the teleporter room. She hadn't pulled her out of it in time. She cursed herself as she reached to the med kit for something—anything that might at least stop Fang's convulsions. She quickly found an antitoxin shot—provided to all med kits after the assassination of the previous Primarch of Cocoon. Biting and spitting off the cap, she immediately injected it into Fang's arm. Lightning couldn't have guessed if it would have any kind of effect but it had been her only option. To her relief it seemed to at least calm Fang down. The Oerban coughed violently before becoming still—though clearly breathing heavily.

"Fang?" Lightning called, noticing the other woman's eyes were closed now. The Gran Pulsian responded with a nonsensical murmur but it was a response nonetheless. Lightning adjusted Fang's position, lying her straight on her back, resting her head in her lap. The blackness in her veins had stopped spreading it seemed but had not faded. They were visibly pulsing, in time with Fang's heartbeats.

Lightning cursed. As if their situation wasn't bad enough. Her mind raced with possible courses of action. Obviously sitting and waiting wasn't an option—no one knew where they were. But Fang was in no position to move. Lightning had no knowledge of the poison Fang had inhaled so she couldn't tell how it would continue to effect the Oerban. The only thing she knew was that she needed an antidote—and the antitoxin shot could only hold it at bay, at most. She reached into the med kit again. Three shots left. She cursed again.

"Mmm-ight... Sss...nnnshi...nnnmmm." Fang continued to murmur through her stupor. Lightning found herself stroking the Gran Pulsian's hair in a attempt to soothe. Her eyes focused on the black veins again. A shaky sigh escaping her, the pinkette looked toward the entrance of the cave. It was still dark. Even if she somehow managed to get Fang able to move, neither of them would be in any position to be wandering out in the night. Another silent curse as she realized all she could do was wait until it was light out—and hope the remaining antitoxin was enough to last at least until then.

"Mmmm Light..." Throughout the night, the Oerban had drifted in an out of consciousness, occasionally able to voice semi-coherent sentences. Lightning would respond how she could but it had been mostly soothing reassurance.

"I'm right here, Fang." Lightning had also noticed Fang's hand had managed to find hers—or was it the other way around? She couldn't tell and her concern for Fang hadn't allowed her to give it much thought. She squeezed the other woman's hand in hers.

"I... I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for, Fang?" Lightning gently ran a hand through the Oerban's hair.

"For... hurting you." The pinkette's brow furrowed. Sure it seemed as though Fang were merely babbling through an exhausted half-consciousness but there was an undeniable truth in her tone, "I never... meant... for it to happen."

"For what to happen, Fang?" Lightning continued to ask.

"D...Dying... I didn't want... to leave you-"

"You're not dying, Fang." Lightning interrupted quickly, surprising herself at the conviction in her voice. Dark green eyes flickered up at her for the briefest of moments, "I won't let you." There was a noticeable relaxing of Fang's body as the Oerban seemed to fall back into senselessness, mumbling more incoherence. Lightning let out a breath she was unaware she'd been holding as her own muscles lost some of their tension. Her eyes watched Fang's lips. Fang's lips.

Memories of the brief yet incredibly intense kiss flooded her mind. Able to think about it with at least some clarity now, her face grew heated. She'd never been a person to be led by their emotions. Very few situations had ended with her doing so, and almost all of them had only happened after she'd arrived on Gran Pulse—and most of those had involved Fang in some way or another. But the kiss had been something different altogether. She had been too shocked to comprehend any feelings of her own but it was almost like in place of them, she'd been open to Fang's emotions—open to feel what Fang felt—through the kiss.

Frustration, relief, sadness, utter joy. So many conflicting feelings behind Fang's lips. But two in particular had caught Lightning's attention. When thinking back on it, they were the two strongest—most prominent switching from one to the other as the kiss suddenly started to when it just-as-abruptly ended.

Love. Whole-hearted, uninhibited love. It had been foreign concept, never thought of before, in the pinkette's mind until the kiss. And it was still unexplainable. But she knew it was what had fueled the kiss, she knew it—she felt it. But just as Fang had pull away, it had been replaced but a wave of guilt. Guilt far too intense for a mere kiss out of the blue. It was guilt worthy of betrayal. The aftertaste of regret lingered even after they had parted. And it was that regret, that realization of Fang's that she had done something she shouldn't have, that stuck with Lightning the most—stung Lightning the most. The idea that the kiss shouldn't have happened, that it was had not been meant for her, the implication pained the pinkette like a blow to the chest—a knife to the heart. And it only made it worse that she had no idea why.

A fit of coughs from Fang knocked her from her thoughts. Blinking away what she refused to accept as tears forming in her eyes, she returned her focus to her task at hand. Shutting out the memories of the kiss, she concentrated on stabilizing Fang's condition.

As the night went on, Lightning hadn't remembered ever feeling quite so helpless; the feeling only growing more and more intense with each passing hour. While Fang's convulsions didn't return for a while, they were replaced by fits of violent coughing accompanied by an intense fever and intermittent shivers. Lightning had laid Fang's head on the pack and had begun to periodically wipe the clear sheen of sweat that begun to layer the Oerban's body. At the second set of convulsions, Lightning again used a shot of antitoxin to counter it. Even though she'd administered it a few seconds after the convulsions had started, the dark veins had continued to spread. And by the time she'd used the third shot, they had spread upward across one of Fang's cheeks.

"Light..." Fang was conscious again.

"Yes, Fang." Lightning answered automatically. Her responses were mostly automatic by now since most of Fang's murmuring was broken and disjointed.

"The worried-sick look doesn't suit you." The phrase caught the tired pinkette's full attention. She looked over to see Fang's eyes, though still dark, were focused on her. A crack of a smile was like a shot of adrenaline to Lightning's heart.

"Fight this poison better and I'll take the look off." Lightning replied with equal snark, earning a cross between a scoff and a cough in response. She dabbed the Oerban's forehead with the damp cloth in her hands, "I have to get you to to Paddra... the shots I'm giving you are only keeping the poison at bay—barely..."

"We both know I'm still not in any position to be moving." Fang swallowed with apparently difficulty, wincing as though it hurt, "But you're right... I need healing." Her hand, still holding Lightning's, squeezed slightly, "You need to get help, Lightning." The sentence was like a punch to the pinkette's gut.

"What?" Lightning blinked as if she'd heard something ridiculous, "No, you're irritating and irk the hell out of me but I'm not leaving you here." Another attempt to laugh by the Gran Pulsian ended in coughs, this time there was a splash of blood that escaped the corner of her mouth. Lightning wiped it with a finger. Dark red—much too red for regular blood. All humor had been lost in the moment as the both of them observed the evidence that Fang was right.

"Light you have to." The Oerban rasped, "It should almost be dawn. I remember... the area where we fell." As Fang spoke, she paused every few words, as if speaking itself was painful for her, "We ended up... not that far from... P-Paddra." With each sentence, Lightning winced harder and harder, "There should be a... a river not far from here... back near the bottom of this... hill-" Another set of coughs interrupted.

"You expect me to just leave you here? Alone?" Lightning argued, "I can use the last antitoxin shot," she pulled it from the med kit, "Maybe it'll give you enough strength to walk, I can help you to Paddra-"

"There's... not enough time, Light." Fang pushed the hand holding the shot, away, "You'd travel faster on your own... follow the river up... stream... to Paddra... tell Vanille and... and Aqui-"

"Vanille...? Aquinas? It would take just as long for them to send help back!" Lightning realized she was letting panic and fear cloud her judgment but she found she couldn't help it, "How am I supposed to even tell them where you are!?"

"A... Aqui... Aqui will know." Fang stated with another cough. Lightning's brow furrowed. How? "Just tell her... I'm... by the light-caves... she'll know..." Consciousness was slipping away from the Oerban at that point.

"Fang... I can't..." Lightning wanted so much to keep the Gran Pulsian awake—to shake her and convince her to try and make the journey to Paddra as well, "Fang!"

"Light... pl... please..." Fang faded out, her eyes closing as she slipped back into unconsciousness.

Gritting her teeth, Lightning swore before turning to look out the entrance of the cave. Sunlight had touched the tips of the area outside as dawn was breaking. Her gaze dropped to the shot of antitoxin in her hands. The shots had kept Fang's convulsions at bay for a few hours each. Meaning if she used the last one she'd have that long to get to Paddra to send help. It was a small window but it was better than waiting around. She knew it was her best chance but leaving Fang's side proved harder than she'd ever thought possible.

Turning back to the Oerban, laying still though breathing heavily with intermittent shudders, she made her decision. She gave Fang the last shot of antitoxin, tossing the empty casing at the wall, angrily. This had to be done, she forced the thought into her mind. Her jaw still tight, the pinkette dabbed the Gran Pulsian's forehead and neck once more before setting the cloth aside. She leaned forward, placing her forehead against Fang's.

"I will be back for you." She whispered, "So you stay alive, you hear me?" She pulled away reluctantly, standing and moving toward the exit of the cave, "Don't you dare die on me." Without looking back, for fear of not being able to go through with it, Lightning left the cave.

As she forced herself to run, following Fang's directions, she felt a burning in her eyes. Tears; not so much of sadness but in anger. Angry at the Sanctum for developing a poison that even a Palamecian antitoxin couldn't fully counter. Anger at herself for leaving Fang despite it being the 'better' choice. Angry at the entire course of events that had led her to this point in time. As she found the river, mentioned by Fang, she took the anger and used it as fuel to propel her exhausted body toward Paddra.

* * *

**A/N:.**

Hmmm... this was... an interesting chapter to write...  
Seriously, why does it feel like I'm arguing with someone while writing things things, recently?


	21. Division

**.:.:: Chapter 20  
.:.:: Division**

* * *

"Hey! Easy! Easy!"

Lightning choked as she gasped for air, the violent jerk of her body sending a torrent of sharp aches through it. It was only after the temporary blindness, by the daylight, faded that she realized she was being slowly but firmly pushed back down onto her back.

"You're gonna be fine but you need to relax, you can't be moving too much." The soothing voice seemed just as—if not more—effective as the gentle grasp on her shoulders in calming her short panicked awakening.

"Wha-huh…? I…?" Another attempt to open her eyes left her dazed once more as sunlight flooded them.

"Slowly, Lightning, slowly… your right eye is still healing."

"Vanille?" Lightning murmured, her body relaxing enough to allow her senses to return. Enough to feel another presence kneeling next to her. The reassuring squeeze of her shoulder and soft hum of acknowledgment confirmed that the small Oerban was the one watching over her. Thoughts of said Oerban reminded her of the other and once again her body tensed, "Fang-!"

"Would you relax!" The more demanding tone kept her from straining herself again, a tired sigh following it, "Why doesn't anyone ever listen to their body when it's in pain?" Lightning opened her mouth to speak but even before Vanille could interrupt, her own throat scratched at itself in protest. She coughed at the sudden sting.

"Here, drink this." She felt her head being lifted up before something touched her lips, liquid sloshing against them. She drank, hungrily. The cool water was both soothing and painful against her throat, "You've been passing in and out of consciousness for a while now but never awake long enough for me to get any liquids in you." The Oerban explained, deftly controlling the amount of water the pinkette was downing in greedy gulps. Once Lightning had drank enough, Vanille carefully lay her head back down.

"F-Fang…?"

"Aquinas went to get her." Came the quick response, "I've also sent help to get both of them to Sulyya."

"Sulyya…?"

"Yes, from what we gathered when you showed up—already semi-unconscious—we didn't want to take any chances so it was decided to move the both of you to Sulyya."

Lightning's eyes finally allowed her to slowly crack them open. Correction: eye. Her right eye was still covered with bandages—though they were clearly fresh, a change from the ones she'd wrapped around her head herself. Her vision was still blurry but she confirmed they were both outside. The light above her was definitely the clear sky; the sound of rustling leaves surrounded them and the softness she was lying on felt like grass. Were they outside the temple? She heard no sounds of the city.

"The negotiations?" For now the fact Vanille knew about Fang and had 'sent help' was enough to allow Lightning's mind to process other concerns.

"On hold." Vanille sighed rather than said, "For the indefinite future it seems."

"How bad?" Lightning immediately saw through the sugar-coated response. It weren't as if she hadn't expecting it, despite how much she'd kept her doubts about the entire situation to herself.

"No worse than expected, really." The Oerban shook her head, "Just... the timing of certain... circumstances... have been terrible." Lightning could understand, having been part of the particular event of which the the Paddrasean priestess had been involved, and then when the artifact had come into play. But something told the pinkette something more had happened. She also, finally able to really take a good look at the smaller woman's face, noticed how tired Vanille looked. As if she hadn't slept in days; her face almost pale, her ever-present smile barely making an appearance on her lips, and the lack of light in her eyes.

"What happened?"

_**:::**_  
_**Hours before**_

"_We knew from the very beginning this was a waste of time."_

"_As unfortunate as the situation is, it cannot be helped-"_

"_The 'situation' is a damn excuse. The Vipers aren't interested in talking, they never were!"_

"_You speak as thought you think any differently-"_

"_Caius."_

"_Screw this pointlessness! If the Vipers wanna go run back to their nest in the sky, let them. But they can consider their proposal denied by the Taejins."_

"_It is not my intention to end these talks." Vanille and Aquinas entered the room just as the Palamecian Knight Commander spoke up, "But there has been an incident on Cocoon that I must oversee personally."_

"_Incident?" Vanille questioned, gaining the attention of the other parties. It seemed to take but a second for Aquinas to pick up on the reason behind the odd tone in the Oerban's voice. Fang and Lightning still hadn't returned from Cocoon. Neither of them had known if they'd even managed to make it onto the shuttle leaving for the moon but for some reason it wasn't very difficult to picture whatever incident the Knight Commander was talking about, involving the two of them._

_****__****__**Back in the present**_  
:::

"So the Knight-Commander returned to Cocoon?" Lightning asked, suddenly avoiding the Oerban's eyes. Vanille rolled hers and clicked her tongue.

"Yes. He was adamant to deal with the... _'incident' _supposedly grave enough to halt peace talks between two worlds that have been at the brink of war for years now." The sentence was like a smack to the back of Lightning's head—the pinkette actually found herself flinching.

"And the tribes?" Lightning immediately decided to try and keep the conversation on Gran Pulse for now.

"The Taejins more or less immediately left Paddra." Vanille somehow managed to take the bait, "Aquinas followed them for a while. She's convinced they're working with someone from Cocoon." The Oerban shook her head, "It seems plausible, taking into account some of the things she says she's seen and heard, plus the Taejins' behavior as the negotiations went on." Lightning silently agreed, having overheard a conversation herself that fit with Aquinas' suspicions. Plus one of the last things she'd seen while on Cocoon. There was no mistaking it, the Taejins had somehow gotten their hands on a device developed on Cocoon.

"It might have been best they left when they did, thinking about it." Vanille's comment threw Lightning for a moment. It must have shown on her face, "They'd barely left before you showed up back at the temple." Attempting to recall her most recent memories, Lightning couldn't remember time between when she'd finally managed to reach Paddra and waking up minutes before.

"How...?" She wasn't entirely sure how to ask the question on her mind.

"You don't have very much luck making the journey from Cocoon down to Gran Pulse do you?" The Oerban said with a small smile, referring to the last time Lightning had made the trip, also ending in bodily harm and eventual loss of consciousness, "You were hurt terribly when we found you the first time but... I don't think I could have ever pictured you so scared and desperate..."

_**:::  
Hours before**_

"_Lightning!?"_

"_What in the hell-?!" Both Vanille and Aquinas broke into a run toward the Paddraseans half restraining, half carrying the pink-haired woman. As they drew near they heard her frustrated mutters about releasing her._

"_Stop! Stop!" Vanille called as she and Aquinas reached the scene. They were in a relatively low-traffic area of the temple, It seemed the pinkette had attempted to enter from a smaller, less-frequented side entrance._

"_Vanille!" Lightning all but threw herself toward the advancing Oerban, breaking free of the guards' holds. Vanille barely managed to catch her with Aquinas' help._

"_Lightning, what happened?!" She attempted to calm the pinkette who seemed to have trouble breathing. Her hair was wet, twigs and leaves caught in the damp locks. The exposed areas of her body were littered with cuts and gashes. A bandage—bloodied and barely holding together—was wrapped around her head, covering her right eye, "What happened?" She repeated, this time to the guards who were now standing over them, "Where did you find her?"_

"_Vanille." Aquinas caught the Oerban's attention quietly, motioning towards Lightning's clothes. At a closer glance she noticed the foreign design, plus the emblem on the remaining sleeve. She'd seen it before. What was Lightning doing in a sanctum uniform?_

"_This is your guest is it not, Vanille." Neither Oerban nor Sulyyan had to look to know Caius had apparently made it to the scene as well, "I'm not sure what I find more bizarre, the fact she is in such a state after running your 'errands' or the fact she is wearing a Sanctum uniform when I distinctly recall her being of the opposite faction-"_

"_She's wounded, we have to get her to the infirmary." Aquinas spoke up, interrupting, surveying the pinkette's more severe wounds, slowly peeling back a few of the bandages around her shoulder. Lightning had calmed slightly, no longer struggling now, half in Vanille's arms. She still murmured nonsensically however, "This cut is too deep and too clean to be from any branch or thorn she may have been cutting through to get to Paddra." The Sulyyan noted additionally._

"_She shouldn't be running this high a fever either." Vanille added, her hand atop Lightning's forehead, "None of the cuts look infected-"_

"_What 'errands' did you send her on, Vanille?" Caius asked in a sharp voice, obviously miffed at being all but ignored, "And where might Fang be-?"_

"_Think we could discuss this when she's not bleeding all over your temple floor, Caius?" Aquinas hissed, shocking both the Paddrasean in question and Vanille. Caius recovered first._

"_Do you have any idea what this would look like to the Taejins or the Palamecians-?!"_

"_All the better reason to move her isn't it?" Vanille spoke up, her voice calm but her point sharp. She was already motioning for Aquinas to help support Lightning's legs, adjusting her grip around the pinkette's shoulders and torso._

_****__**Back to the present**_  
:::

"You Palamecians have quite the timing, you know that?" Vanille stated with a short laugh. Lightning raised a brow at her, "As we were moving you, the Knight Commander showed up." Lightning could have laughed as well. Of course Alistair had showed up.

"And?"

"And it seems the comradery between you Palamecians is rather strong. Exile or not." The Oerban laughed at the look Lightning imagined was on her face in response to the unexpected comment, "He seemed genuinely concerned for you." Vanille held something out so Lightning could see. A shot of anti-toxin, "He said it might be able to help. He recognized symptoms of a poison he'd seen before."

"The last primarch." The pinkette mumbled, taking the syringe from Vanille. It was slightly different than the ones she'd used on Fang—most likely because they were Palamecian rather than Sanctum. This one was larger, with a different delivery system. It was also unused.

"You didn't seem to need it once I'd managed to calm you down and work on your wounds." Vanille stated as if reading her mind, "He gave one to Aquinas as well, for Fang, just in case." Lightning breathed a sigh of relief. She was confident that the Palamecian anti-toxin would be just as, if not more effective than the Sanctum's, giving Fang that much more time before she could be properly treated.

"And Aquinas knows where she is?"

"Before you completely passed out you mentioned light caves and and a river." Vanille explained, "If Fang was anywhere near water, Aquinas would have found her." There was a strange pride to the Oerban's smile, "She is Sulyyan after all."

Lightning felt a frown cross her lips. Sulyyan. Sulyya. She, being no exception to the rest of Cocoon despite her extended stay on Gran Pulse, knew the least about Sulyya and it's people than any of the other tribes. And despite being around Aquinas, the Sulyyan had not made herself nor her tribe any less mysterious. Fang and Vanille hadn't exactly help either. Lightning figured the only way she'd find out was to ask of visit herself. Sure, the latter would now happen eventually but in her currently weakened state, curiosity was finally getting the better of her.

"Tell me about Sulyya."

"Well we're headed there right now, you didn't want to wait and see."

"Anything I should know beforehand?" Lightning made the poor attempt at an excuse for the Oerban's insight.

"Is it Sulyya you want to know about? Or Aquinas?" The pinkette could practically hear the smile on Vanille's lips as she spoke.

"Both." Lightning answered honestly.

"Good answer." Lightning looked up, directly at Vanille, who gave her an odd look in return, "That makes it easier."

_**:::  
Ten years ago**_

"_Vanille! Why can't we just use the normal path?"_

"_Because it's boring, Fang! C'mon! Aqui told me about this secret passage last time we were here."_

"_But that does mean we need to go climbing through it…"_

"_Oh don't be such a baby-"_

"_I'm not being a baby! I'm two years older than you!"_

_A nine-year-old Vanille giggled at an eleven-year-old Fang as she slowly stepped out onto the slippery ledge jutting out from under a waterfall. The two of them were technically already within Sulyyan borders and the 'path' they were currently on was really just one of many 'convenient' rock formations one could use to enter the village. Convenient if one knew where to look for them._

"_Your brother's going to kill me if you get hurt…" Fang hissed as they made it across the ledge, dropping down onto a flat rock, overlooking one of the smaller pools in the village._

"_Since when do you care about what my brother does?" The smaller of the two made a face at the mention of her sibling._

"_Since I was put in charge of taking care of you." Fang responded bluntly. She immediately regret it however, when she saw the look on Vanille's face quickly shift from distaste to sadness. But she spoke the truth, "I'm supposed to be your guard."_

"_You're supposed to be my friend." Vanille pouted, turning away from the taller of the two. She still didn't quite understand how suddenly important her clan had become and the rules that had been applied to Fang's. They were all part of the same tribe weren't they? So why did one have a bigger responsibility to protect the other? _

"_You don't want me to be your guard?"_

"_I want you to be my friend." Vanille answered truthfully, the topic quickly deteriorating the fun she'd been having. She suddenly felt someone pull her into a sideways hug and ruffle her hair. She squirmed, trying to get free, unsuccessful until she was released._

"_Guard or friend I'm always gonna be worried about you." Fang stated, "You're a troublemaker you are, such a kid."_

"_You're still a kid too!"_

"_Not as much as you!" Fang watched as Vanille's eyes drifted down to the pool below._

"_Bet you wouldn't jump from here into that pool." The older Oerban looked between her friend and the body of water below. It may have been small but the clear water revealed it was relatively deep—most likely was an entrance to one of the many waterways running under and around the springs._

"_Why would I do something like that?"_

"_Aqui could do it, she did it last time." Fang almost growled at the statement. She got to her feet, standing best she could in the small space they'd climbed to._

"_I can do anything she can do." Vanille maybe have been young, but she wasn't blind. She knew Fang had always been competitive, particularly when it involved their Sulyyan friend. Even with her newfound seriousness due to the responsibility placed on her because of their clans' situation, Fang would not back down from a challenge concerning Aquinas. _

_The taller Oerban would prove this by adjusting her hold on the small half-staff in her hands before leaping out over the edge. Fang's determination kept her body steady as she made the jump but as she fell the dozen feet or so, she seemed to lose control of her limbs. Obviously unaccustomed to diving into pools of water, she hit the water more or less on her side with a loud crack before the splash. The sound made Vanille wince and for a second and eventually made her regret goading her friend into attempting the jump. _

_As Fang broke the surface, beginning to make her way to the edge of the pool, Vanille had already started making her way down the side of the rockface, using a mesh of rock and vine to do so. She met Fang at the bottom, her clothes and hair soaking wet—though it seemed not even a complete dunk into water could keep her dark wild locks flat._

_"See?" Fang grumbled through a poor attempt at hiding the obvious pain in her side, "Told ya I could do it."  
_

"_Well what do you know…"A voice caught both of their attention just as Fang caught the smaller girl into a hug, using her to dry herself off, "I never thought I'd ever see an Oerban fly." The two of them looked to see a Sulyyan grinning at them, highly amused._

"_Aqui!" Vanille beamed._

_****__****__**Back to the present**_  
:::

"You sent an eleven-year-old off a twenty-four foot drop?"

"I did nothing of the sort." Vanille feigned ignorance, "Besides, that was nothing compared to what Fang was doing training as a huntress—not to mention personal guard." Lightning could tell the Oerban regret the additional comment, breaking eye-contact abruptly. Vanille and Fang's interactions when they were younger were different than how she'd pictured but not surprising to Lightning. What intrigued her was the brief mentions of Aquinas. Fang had only made the reckless pool jump because she'd been prodded that Aquinas had done so. But the Sulyyan couldn't have been much older than five or six. Gran Pulsian or not, Lightning couldn't imagine any child that young making that jump.

"It started out just like any other visit." Vanille continued the story before Lightning could fall too deep into thought, "Aquinas would play with us, keep us out of trouble—well, more like bail us out of trouble."

"Aquinas?" Lightning's brow furrowed once more. It seemed… highly unlikely to Lightning seeing Aquinas—who still acted like a child—keeping the older two out of trouble at such a young age. There was the possibility she was the daughter of a key member of the tribe; she was the Sulyyan representative after all. Yet even for that position it seemed odd to place such responsibility on a girl so young. Lightning toyed with the idea that she may have be in the same situation as Vanille where she merely acted as figurehead to a council. Upon returning her focus to Vanille, Lightning noted that the sad, nostalgic look on the other woman's face felt haunted.

"It was early evening when the village got a visit from the Palamecians."

"The Palamecians?" Lightning grew more confused. Palamecians rarely left Cocoon. If they did at all, it was only ever for diplomatic reasons. Sanctum handled more or less anything and everything between the moon and the world below. And even then, the Sulyyans had been the tribe they'd had the least contact with.

"We'd heard of soldiers like them but we'd never seen any until that day." Vanille seemed to acknowledge the pinkette's confusion, "It was simple really. They were there for the crystals." The Oerban sighed heavily, "And the Sulyyans refused them." Lightning knew what came next but found it hard to believe, "There were no negotiations that day, no bargaining, there was barely an argument before things escalated out of control."

"Impossible." Lightning blurt out before she could help herself. After silently apologizing for interrupting, she shook her head, "The Palamecians are the Primarch's personal guard, personal security force. Even in the rare occasion they're sent to Gran Pulse they are forbidden the use of their weapons without the consent of the Knight-Commander or Primarch themselves." She paused a moment, "I find it highly unlikely the Palamecians would allow things to 'escalate' in the way you imply."

"And what exactly do you think I'm implying?" Vanille snapped, suddenly. Lightning was taken aback for a moment. The sharp interruption was full of frustration, anger—spite, even, "There's a reason the Sulyyan village is no longer on the surface of the springs but built deep within the water caverns that run under them." Lightning dare not speak as the Oerban continued, her voice uncharacteristically hard and cold, "That day the Palamecians burned it to the ground."

**_:::  
Ten years ago_**

"_Vanille! Vanille where are you?!" Vanille lifted her head over the pile of rubble she'd been using to take cover. Somehow she could hear Fang's voice over the blazes of fire surrounding her, the crumbling of buildings and screams of Sulyyan villagers. Screams of both anger and pain as the strangers with weapons of fire rained destruction on anything and anyone in their paths._

"_Fang?!"_

"_Vanille!" The older Oerban scrambled over the rubble to all but tackle Vanille to the ground, wasting no time ensuring the younger of the two was not injured, "Okay, it's okay… you're fine… it's okay."_

"_It's not okay!" Vanille realized she was crying, "People are dying."_

"_I know, I know." Fang's hands were shaking but she continued to hold Vanille's shoulders, forcing herself to look into her eyes, "But I will **not** let anything happen to you, understand?" Vanille sobbed but nodded. The elder peeked out over their cover once more. Vanille remained crouched, hands clutching one of Fang's arms like her life depended on it, "We have to find a way out of here-"_

"_What about Aqui?!" Vanille yanked on Fang's arm, pulling her back down into cover. Her eyes were much too blurry to focus on the odd look in Fang's eyes, "We have to find her!"_

"_Vanille, most of the Sulyyans have already run back into the water caves!"_

"_Then we should go too!" The smaller pleaded, "We can take the water tunnels back to Oerba and get help."_

"_We don't have the time, Vanille!" Fang argued, "The Vipers are already heading into the caves, we can take this chance to leave through the main path."_

"_We can't leave them!" Vanille began to sob again, "They're our friends! We can't let them die!"_

"_I can't let you die!" Fang was yelling now, "You think I don't want to go and help!?" The volume of her voice and scared Vanille silent. Fang seemed to notice this and immediately toned it down, "I have to protect you Vanille, if I don't-!"_

"_Get out of our home!" A piercing cry cut Fang off and snapped both their attention to just on the other side of cover. The two barely peeked over the rubble before something—neither of them could have known what—cut through it, sending the both of them backward. Vanille landed on her side, her arm under her, stinging from being dragged along the ground. Her legs felt heavy and when she tried to move them, they wouldn't. She let out a cry when she pulled her arm from under her. Scrape mark caked with dirt covered it._

"_Vanille!" Fang's voice again. The other Oerban was scrambling towards her. She gripped her under her arms and began to pull. Looking down at her legs, Vanille realized why they were so heavy, a body was slumped over them, almost unrecognizable but definitely Sulyyan. She suddenly found it hard to breathe. Fang toppled over as soon as she pulled Vanille free. The both of them froze however, when a figure emerged from the whirl of dirt and dust. Vanille felt Fang move around to shield her but could also feel her shaking. The figure's presence was dangerously overwhelming. The armor, glowing orange, surrounding his body, was disturbingly eerie. Vanille watched as a long glowing blade grew visible out of a heavy gauntlet on one of his wrists. The subtle hum emanating from it filled her body with another wave of terror. She could not see his face but she didn't have to see his eyes to know there was no mercy to be found in them._

"_Stay away from them!" A voice pierced through air, stopping the figure looming over Fang and Vanille. Not a moment later he was forced back by something charging him head on. He was shoved at least half a dozen feet backward before ending up on his knee, a large Orobon circling him. Aquinas sat upon it, a spear in her hands. She threw it at her opponent, who barely managed to parry it, before lunging at her. The Sulyyan maneuvered her mount away from the attempt but even though it put a decent gap between them, the Orobon was halted. It cried out in pain as a set of glowing chains confined it and began to burn through it's scales. The chains were connected to the stranger's gauntlet. Aquinas was thrown from the beast, landing unsteadily a few feet away. _

"_Aqui-!"_

"_Fang!" Vanille's cry was ignored as the Sulyyan pulled something from a sheathe on her back, "Get Vanille out of here!" Aquinas unfolded the strange device revealing a pronged rod ending in wire and hooks, "Hey!" Aquinas whipped the rod forward, the wire extending out from the prongs, "Two can play at that game!" She swept them back as they reached her target, currently struggling with the Orobon fighting against his chains, "Think you can fish better than a Sulyyan huh? Not a chance!" _

_Despite most of his upper body being bound, he managed to grip one of the wires connected to the Sulyyan's weapon. With a violent jerk he wrenched Aquinas toward him before kicking her away. The assault loosened her grip on the rod in her hands, allowing the wires around her catch to go slack, enabling him to break free. He then yanked his gauntlet towards him. The creature in the chains let out a blood curdling screech as it was hauled off-balance. Before it hit the ground however, it was gone, completely disintegrated._

_Vanille and Fang watched in horror as the chains faded away, leaving nothing but ash falling in the Orobon's place. Someone was screaming. It took Vanille a moment to realize it was her, for Aquinas was merely kneeling where she'd landed, jaw dropped without sound coming from it. She heard Fang curse from next to her and noticed the stranger was looking in their direction. Neither of them moved, merely held by the stranger's gaze, they felt frozen. Fear gripped them like chains, holding them to the ground. He moved to take a step toward them but immediately dropped to one knee again. Aquinas had launched herself at the man, entangling her weapon—rod and wire—around his gauntlet, pulling it hard downward, into the ground, pinning it there.  
_

"_FANG!" Aquinas still gripping the binding rod rightly, though visibly shaking, "I SAID RU-CUGHCK!" She didn't finish for in a flash a hand was around her throat, her weapon was ripped from her grasp and sliced into pieces by a summoned blade before it was tossed aside like a toy._

"_AQUI!" Vanille screamed but found herself being dragged to her feet, dragged up and away, "Fang wait! No! Aqui!" She struggled, summoned what strength she had to pull against the other Oerban but it was nowhere near enough. Fang continued to pull her away, "Aqui!" Vanille begged. She pleaded. She ignored the tears forming in Fang's eyes as she was lifted over her shoulder, sapped completely of any strength to resist. She ignored the choked apology from the taller Oerban as she continued to force herself away from the burning village._

_Though burning hot tears blurred her vision, Vanille's eyes remained focused on Aquinas. Through the encroaching dark of unconsciousness she watched helplessly as the stranger thrust his glowing blade mercilessly through the young Sulyyan. She watched the life in Aquinas' eyes flicker out before her body was tossed unceremoniously into a nearby pool. By then Vanille was too far gone to cry out her name. She saw Aquinas slip out of her view into the water before she herself, slipped out of consciousness and into darkness._

_**Back in the present  
:::**_

"I was lying when I said it was easier..."

Lightning struggled to comprehend Vanille's telling of Sulyya's history. The events themselves made sense but certain factors contradicted the future—or rather, the present—the most confusing of which was Aquinas. Questions and possibly explanations flooded the pinkette's mind, momentarily inhibiting her from actually speaking.

"I watched Aquinas die that day." The statement cut through Lightning's whirlpool of thoughts, "It wasn't made official until a few days later when everything had calmed but I knew when I saw her run through, that she was gone."

"But… that's impossible." Lightning had a feeling that particular statement would be repeated a number more times before the conversation was over, "If she died how does she exist now?" The pink ette started with one of the bigger questions, "I know the water around Sulyya has healing properties but even without any other knowledge than that, I doubt it's able to bring back the dead."

"You're right, it can't." Vanille continued to avoid Lightning's eyes, "It shouldn't."

"Then how-?"

"No one really knows." The Oerban answered quickly, "Aquinas was... the exception. After she returned, the Sulyyans tried to use the power of the springs to restore life completely but it never worked."

"And how exactly did Aquinas return?" Lightning swallowed, not entirely sure why she felt slightly uncomfortable asking Vanille the question.

"Like I said, no one seems to know; Aquinas isn't an exception." The distressed look on the Oerban's face gave Lightning her answer. She didn't have to have known Vanille any longer to realize the subject caused her a great amount of mental stress, "The Sulyyans rebuilt within the water caverns, more or less shutting out anything and everything from the outside—including the other tribes. Fang and I didn't return for years." Vanille swallowed hard and sighed, "Six to be exact. A lot happened within those six years. My clan became the leaders of Oerba, I finally formed a bond with a guardian beast." Another heavy sigh, "I lost my brother." She seemed to catch Lightning tense up at the last statement, "But one tragic story at a time, yeah?" A forced laughed kept the pinkette from arguing.

"A time came when it was necessary for me to visit Sulyya." Vanille continued, "Oerba had been having... issues with a neighbor we shared."

"The Taejins?" Vanille nodded quickly but didn't explain. And Lightning didn't ask. It wasn't important.

"I was sent—accompanied by Fang—with two of the Elders to discuss a plan to resolve the issue. At the time the Sulyyans were still forbidding entry into the village itself but sent a representative to the surface to meet us."

"Aquinas." Lightning stated. Vanille didn't answer but she knew she'd guessed correctly.

"I don't even remember what was discussed during that meeting." The Oerban admit, "But I was in too much disbelief to question it. Aquinas recognized both Fang and I but acted as though we just... hadn't seen each other for a long time." Lightning waited patiently through the longer pauses during Vanille's explanations, she took them as the Oerban's attempts to recover from reliving the unpleasant memories, "There were a few more meetings similar to the first, none of which I could find the nerve to question Aquinas about... well, anything. We began speaking to each other more frequently and less formally but it was still so surreal while she was around." There was another pause, accompanied with a shrug, "Eventually... I stopped wanting to question it."

"Neither of you ever asked?" Lightning questioned. Vanille seemed to shake her head slowly.

"I didn't. And Fang dealt with it differently. Unless directly spoken to, she'd ignore anything and everything said—by Aquinas or anyone else involved." Vanille shrugged again slightly, "I didn't blame her. She might not have actually witnessed it like I had but Aquinas' death affected her greatly—or rather it was her actions just before."

"She ran."

"Only because she was told to and because she had the responsibility of my life in her hands." Vanille snapped defensively. Lightning hadn't meant to hit the nerve she did. Vanille quickly realized this and her expression softened almost immediately, "Believe it or not Fang was usually a relatively obedient child. She only gained her rebellious nature after what happened at Sulyya. By following orders and duty to keep me safe, she left a friend to die."

"All things considered it seems like she made the right choice-"

"That didn't make it any easier." Vanille murmured, "For either of us." Lightning hadn't meant her comment to sound quite so cold but she felt it was the truth.

"She was eleven! You were nine!"

"And Aquinas was fifteen." Once again Lightning found herself momentarily stunned processing Vanille's words. When logic finally broke through, she was reminded of what had been bothering her since the beginning of the Oerban's tale. From how Vanille had spoken of her it seemed as though Aquinas had been older than the both of them. But here, now, in the present, Aquinas looked and acted younger.

"How old is Aquinas now?"

"Fifteen." Vanille stated plainly, no evidence in her expression that she'd said anything that hadn't made sense. But she could read the perplexed look on the pinkette's face, "She's been fifteen for ten years."

Lightning suddenly felt light-headed, despite still lying on the ground. At first she assumed it was due to the absolutely impossible explanation Vanille had just given but when she actually felt as though the ground was swaying underneath her, she was forced to put the conversation on hold.

As she sat up, the world continued to sway violently, out of the blue. She actually felt as though the ground had moved under her. What was stranger was that Vanille seemed to react similarly, hands placed firmly on the ground in front of her, though her expression was more of concern than queasiness. Though her vision had returned a while ago, Lightning had been staring up at the sky and clouds. But even then she hadn't realized their odd movements, she'd been too engrossed in Vanille's story, too busy being bombarded with information that made little to no sense. Now, sitting upright and able to take in her surroundings, she quickly became aware that they were surrounded by trees—tree-tops to be exact. And they were moving. Despite both of them being completely stationary, on the ground, they were moving.

"Um… Vanille…?" Lightning's confusion skipped concern and went straight to near-panic, "Is the ground… moving?!" The Oerban's expression of worry for Lightning's sudden state of panic was quickly replaced by amusement as she let out a small laugh, leaning back on her hands, patting the ground as she did so.

"Well, we _are _moving…" Vanille confirmed with a cheeky grin, "But we aren't on the ground." Lightning surveyed the area around them quickly. The grassy patch seemed to stretch outward a little under a dozen feet one way and a little over two dozen the other. Some kind of… small plateau? But that still didn't explain the movement-

"We're on my guardian beast." Vanille pat the 'ground' again, "Enlil." Lightning's eyes widened. On? As in riding? Something with a back the size of a small shuttle? Tall enough to reach the some of the highest branches of the surrounding trees? "He has a weak healing aura so I figured I could keep you stable if he brought us to Sulyya." Lightning struggled to find words but found she couldn't, "Speaking of which, it seems we're here."

As Lightning heard the sound of running water, she pulled herself to her feet as they seemed to break through the trees into the open. She'd seen plenty of scans and images of Sulyya Springs but none of them did the real thing any justice. The entire area seemed to shimmer with the light, from the sun reflecting off the water and from the crystals illuminating it themselves. Waterfalls ending in pools connected by naturally patterned waterways covered most of the surrounding rock. The area was perfectly framed by the mountain ridge that ran behind it

A sudden lurch of the 'ground' under her feet reminded her she was still on the back of Vanille's guardian beast. She struggled to maintain her balance as there was another suddenly jerk as the enormous creature seemed to lower itself to the actual ground. Vanille made her way to one of the sides where Lightning saw a tall rock formation, the top jutting outward toward the beast.

"Well come on, then." The Oerban motioned Lightning over as she made the small jump onto the rock. Lightning slowly made her way to the edge, feeling the slow rising and falling of the creature below her. How could she not have noticed it before? Jumping towards Vanille, she followed the Oerban down and around the rock, a convenient set of foot-holes making it relatively easy.

And she rounded the rock, she came face to face with… well, face to… well, she couldn't quite describe what it was. It was even larger looking at it from the ground—though technically all she'd seen of it until now was its back. It stood on four legs from what she could see, though they were bent so its body rested on the ground. Despite this it still remained almost two dozen feet tall. Most of its body was comprised of twisted wood, four particularly large tube-like funnels protruding out of its shoulders facing front. Its back was indeed covered in softer foliage that hung down around its sides and face. If you could call it a face. Multiple ridges ending in a point jut out from its neck. Lightning could see no eyes, no mouth or nose. Yet she felt it staring at her.

"Enlil is a wood wraith." Vanille explained, already at its side running a hand along it's massive neck, "He's not as fast as say, Cain but I figured it'd be safer to travel nearer the ground than in the air." The Oerban walked back to pat the side of Enlil's head. An odd scene considering it was almost twice as large as she was. She paused briefly to look over at Lightning before motioning her over. Lightning hesitated… a lot. But eventually she stepped closer until she was within arm's reach of the gigantic creature. Vanille remained silent and relatively still, her own hand still resting on the side of Enlil's head. Despite herself, Lightning found herself raising her hand.

"Don't worry so much, he won't bite." Lightning actually let out a laugh. Putting aside the fact that even if he could, it wouldn't be so much a bite as a swallow-whole. But from what Lightning could see, Enlil didn't have a mouth. That's not to say he couldn't swat her aside like a rag-doll with any one of his gargantuan limbs with the same result. Her hand remained about a foot away from the wood wraith. She took a step back when Enlil suddenly extended his neck, his head meeting her hand roughly. The pinkette resisted the urge to suddenly pull away, immediately feeling the immense power behind the movement. The ridge she was touching felt like hard, polished wood and was warm to the touch. There was a strange sound that suddenly echoed through the ridges, engulfing her body. It was accompanied by a gust of air that was strong enough to push the pinkette back another step. Lightning could have sworn it was a strange sort of purr. Soon it was replaced by Vanille's laughter.

"Seems Enlil has taken a liking to you." Lightning was still shaking off the initial awe of merely being so close to such a giant and bizarrely enchanting creature to really respond, "Well, he does have an affinity to lightni-"

"Oerba Dia Vanille." A voice caught both their attention, Enlil's too as the wood wraith seemed to begin to stand at the sound of the newcomer. Lightning turned to see three Gran Pulsians atop large bird-like creatures. They were mounts, similar to chocobos but judging by their webbed talons, the scales and fish-like head, they were aquatic creatures. The pinkette concluded the riders must have been Sulyyans. She also noted that their eyes were all trained directly on her.

"There is no question that you are a friend to Sulyya but to bring a Viper here..." One of the other Sulyyans spoke up.

"I understand your concern but she is a guest of Oerba. A personal guest of mine." Vanille spoke, the authority in her voice slightly jarring to Lightning, "She is most likely the only reason Fang is still alive to receive your help, of which I will state again, is greatly appreciated." After a long, extremely uncomfortable silence, the three riders finally shifted their gazes to the Oerban.

"Unfortunately that alone isn't be enough." The first Sulyyan spoke once more, "The Vipers lost any right to be anywhere near this area long ago."

"I mean no ill intent." Lightning stated before she could stop herself. She kicked herself for not controlling her nature of refusing to be walked over—physically or verbally.

"That doesn't change the fact that we don't trust you, Viper." The third Sulyyan spoke this time, "Nor does the fact that even if you did mean harm, there's nothing left here for you to destroy." Lightning bit her tongue at the rising backlash of a comment that rose in her throat. As she did so, she noticed that for as beautiful as the surroundings were, there was an odd eeriness about it. There were no sounds other than water on rock. No evidence of any animals, any living creatures inhabiting the area. The land remained scarred from being ravaged years ago, the tranquil beauty only barely masking the past that haunted it.

"You have my word, Lightning means no harm-" Vanille began.

"And we believe in your word, Vanille." The first Sulyyan seemed to soften his tone, "But it'll take longer than a decade and more than your word for us to trust a Viper." Vanille couldn't argue, "She will be allowed into the village but only when Aquinas returns with Fang."

"Speaking of which, where are they? They didn't come with you?"

"No." Vanille answered quickly as Enlil began to rise up off the ground again, "But they should be here any moment now." All five of them looked to see the treeline nearby begin to shift. A loud set of thuds were heard and felt through the ground. Eventually another wood-wraith, just as if not larger than Enlil emerged from the wall of trees. Two?! Lightning actually felt her jaw drop open as the second wood wraith continued until right next to the first, stopping right before Vanille. It was only then when Lightning saw a very tired, very frail looking Aquinas laying sprawled atop its head. The Sulyyan motioned over her shoulder.

"We... need to get Fang to the water..." She breathed heavily, "Now..."

As if on cue, the three Sulyyan's dismounted and began making their way with haste, atop the wood wraith towards Aquinas, two of them continuing onto its back, out of sight to where Lightning assumed Fang was. The pinkette felt her head throb, realizing she'd developed a rather painful headache which she was pretty sure had nothing to do with injuries sustained on her way back from Cocoon. She caught Vanille patting the second wood wraith along it's similarly ridged 'face'. The small Oerban caught her eye and gave a small nod toward the giant beast.

"Oh, this is Enki." The creature seemed to make some kind of loud grunt in acknowledgment, "Enlil's brother."

* * *

**A/N:.**

Vanille... Oh, you...  
And what? Something's better than nothing ain't it?**  
**

Art for the end of Vanille's flashback in the gallery on dA.


	22. Sulyya

**.:.:: Chapter 21**  
**.:.:: Sulyya**

* * *

"I'll need you to stand clear while the Sulyyans and I tend to Fang but do not wander." Vanille warned Lightning, "While they're still a peaceful tribe, their disdain for your people is still strong, so stay where I can keep an eye on you." The pinkette nodded without argument.

After Fang and Aquinas had been recovered from Enki, they were carried—followed closely by Lightning and Vanille—into an opening in the ridge behind the springs.

The water glimmered even more brilliantly than it did outside, in direct sunlight. Pillars of natural light drifted from where the rock had given way to the outside. Where the pillars didn't touch, the pools and streams of water reflected light onto the glistening walls to create their own luminance. Despite being flooded with two vastly different sources of light, they blended perfectly to create a spectacular and enchanting setting. The air was warm but not thick and unlike the barren rock outside, plants and vegetation flourished freely along the walls, in and out of the water. Wildlife thrived throughout the area filling the caverns with more than the sounds of water on rock like on the surface.

They were led through a few areas similar to the first before Lightning began to notice distinct structures built into the cavern walls—not unlike the Paddrasean temple. While they were all rough around the edges, each had its own distinct look and despite being carved from rock, they all had a certain warmth emanating from them, emphasized by the villagers Lightning observed in and around them.

It was the largest section yet—massive in size. A pool, large enough to be a small lake in fact, sat in the center, lower-most part; waterfalls on opposite sides of the cascading down into it. The rock rooms were scattered along the walls, separated into multiple tiers. Within the lake were towering islands that almost looked like slender, giant mushrooms that formed odd sorts of bridges at multiple levels between different sides of the colossal cavern. And there was only one pillar of sunlight, directly in the center, shining down without obstruction, into the large body of water. The rest of the area was illuminated by the liquid that seemed to continuously coat the walls.

Eventually the Sulyyan carrying Fang stopped at a relatively large overhang, a set of blocks carved from the rock and covered with moss lay in a row, surrounded by a shallow pool of water. Fang was placed on one of the blocks gently as another Sulyyan approached the group. Finally distracted from the entrancing ambiance, Lightning became quickly aware that she was being watched. Not just by the newest Sulyyan, but by the nearby villagers that had become aware of their arrival—more specifically her presence. She couldn't remember the last time she felt quite so… vulnerable. It was much more intense than what she'd felt at Oerba or Paddra. She knew why but that didn't make it any less discomforting.

"Here." The pinkette barely noticed Vanille walk up to her, carrying a pack—the same one she'd left with Fang, "Aquinas found this with Fang, it has the clothes from Oerba." Lightning realized that despite its tattered and torn state, she was still in the very distinctive Sanctum uniform.

"Right." She found she could barely muster a whisper in agreement. Seemed she was still caught between being enthralled by the Sulyya's atmosphere and wary of her effect on the natives.

"It might be best you change." The Oerban motioned behind her, "There's a room you can use. I'll be here with Fang." The pinkette only nodded before slowly making her way the hollowed out section of the wall Vanille had indicated. Her feet, which she only just realized were bare, felt the wet and mossy rock under them yet had no trouble stepping without slipping. It was almost as if the moss acted as a grip, preventing her from losing her footing due to the sheen of water that coated more or less everything.

Lightning changed quickly—as quickly as she could with the stiffness still apparent in most of her limbs. She opted to leave herself barefoot, feeling it would have just felt awkward to have worn the sandals she'd been given. She bundled the torn remains of the Sanctum uniform and laid them next to the open pack. She shuffled through the bag, ignoring most of the contents before pulling out Fang's sari. She stepped back outside and slowly made her way back to where Fang was now being examined by the newest Sulyyan while Vanille seemed to be explaining what she might think would work to begin the healing process. She caught Lightning out of the corner of her eye however, and paused.

"Hey." She walked over and guided Lightning to another stone slab. She took both the pack and Fang's sari from the pinkette, set them down on the block before pushing Lightning to sit. She did, feeling her feet barely submerged in the pool surrounding them, "I'm going to help see what I can do about Fang." Lightning swallowed thickly, throwing a glance over toward where the taller Oerban lay, still unconscious it looked like, "This is a healing pool." Vanille pat a section of the slab that was covered in moss, "The moss absorbs its healing properties so as long as you remain near it, your injuries should take care of themselves."

"I just… sit here?" Lightning mumbled.

"For now yes." Vanille nodded with a smile, "And keep these on." She indicated to the bandages around Lightning's head and shoulder, "It's going to take a little more than sitting on some moss to fully heal those." Lightning reached a hand up to touch the bandages near her eye but Vanille gently but firmly slapped her hand away. She gave the pinkette and amused look before smiling, "I'll be back in a bit." She gave the Lightning a light squeeze on her good shoulder before returning to Fang's side.

The pinkette observed as Vanille and the Sulyyan tended to Fang using a series of vials of different sizes in combination with plants of different colors. They applied salves to Fang's cuts and soaked rags stuffed with different herbs before wrapping them around her bruises. She noted that Fang, so far, had not broken into any seizures but she had yet to regain consciousness. The conversations between Vanille and the Sulyyan were hushed, but Lightning figured even if she could hear it, she probably wouldn't have been able to follow it for long. Despite still being concerned for Fang, she found merely watching the healing process, soothed her. She already felt most of her muscles relaxing and some of the stiffness in her body steadily fading.

Eventually she allowed her eyes to wander once more to take in the rest of the village. The healing pool they were at was on a relatively high tier. And being on the block nearest the edge, Lightning had a decent view of the lake and the lower areas surrounding it. Despite the copious amount of light reflecting off it, other than the areas at the base of the waterfalls, the water was crystal clear allowing for Lightning to notice openings in the rock nearer the bottom of the lake. She figured they were entrances to the waterways she'd heard Vanille mention before.

A group gathered near the edge of the large body of water, near one of the waterfalls, caught the pinkette's attention. Despite being over a hundred feet away, she could see the Sulyyan carrying Aquinas was now gently lowering her to sit on the edge of the water. A small wave of the familiar Sulyyan's hand indicated she was still conscious, though the sluggish movement hinted that it wouldn't remain that way much longer. As the Sulyyan who'd carried her stepped away, Aquinas seemed to take a few deep breaths, leaning back on her hands for a while.

After a moment, Lightning realized Aquinas was looking in her direction. And she resisted an awkward urge to raise a hand to wave. The Sulyyan apparently had the same urge but had not found it awkward enough to not raise a hand to acknowledge Lightning's presence. But before the pinkette could respond with any kind of action, Aquinas slid herself into the water, without hesitation. It was right at the bottom of the waterfall so as soon as the Sulyyan submerged herself under the surface, Lightning lost track of her. She didn't bother to strain her eyes. Something told her it would be pointless.

"Well… we've done pretty much all we can do at this point." A voice snapped her attention back to the healing pool. Vanille had made her way over carrying a set of rags, "We managed to get the majority of the poison out of her system." Lightning took a closer look at the bundle in her hands. It was a mess of crushed, dead herbs and diluted blood but also stained with a very unnatural, very ominous black substance. Lightning raised a hand toward it curiously but Vanille pulled away quickly.

"That's the poison?"

"For the most part." Vanille nodded, "These herbs naturally absorb impurities." She made a small motion in the direction of the lake, "They line most of the cave underwater, it's how the water stays so clear." The Oerban rebundled the rags, tying them off tightly, "They worked how we expected, helped extract the poison out of Fang but it must have been something pretty terrible to cause the herbs to completely decay."

"But she'll be alright?" Lightning returned the focus to Fang.

"She'll pull through. Her body is exhausted. She just needs a little uninterrupted rest without anything eating away at her insides." Vanille gave the pinkette a reassuring smile, "The healing pool will do the rest."

"Can I see her?" Vanille stepped aside, as if already have anticipated the request. Lightning made her way through the knee-high water towards where Fang lay. She was motionless other than the steady rise and fall of her chest. She remembered how much pain was evident in the Oerban's body the last time she saw her. The cut and bruises were still clearly visible on her body but were swelling around them had gone down and many of them had already begun to close over and heal. And despite looking thinner and more frail than Lightning could ever have imagined her, Fang looked as though she were sleeping peacefully.

"Care to explain to me how we got here?" Vanille had returned to Lightning's side, leaning slightly on the slab Fang lay on.

"Can't say I can, he's your guardian beast." Lightning mumbled a joke, instinctively avoiding the conversation that was bound to occur.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Vanille's tone was gentle but serious. Lightning resigned to the fact that she had no chance of keeping anything from the other woman so she began retelling what she could remember of the events leading up to her losing consciousness just outside of Paddra.

"You busted into the headquarters of both of Cocoon's governing factions?!" Vanille seemed as amused as she was in disbelief, "One right after the other?"

"Technically we didn't 'bust' into anything." Lightning started, "So much as…" She paused, "Snuck in, covertly…" She paused again, this time for longer, "For the most part."

"Right… covertly enough to have both the Sanctum _and_ the Palamecians almost blowing the two of you into smithereens." Vanille countered; a laugh behind her statement which didn't go unnoticed by the pinkette who merely made a face, "For the most part."

"Technically it was the Sanctum that was doing most of the blowing-into-smithereens." Lightning motioned to the pack on the slab she'd been recuperating on, "And we got what we went for."

"I hope it's worth it." The comment was in no means meant to be threatening but the pinkette recognized the sharp edge to the Oerban's voice. It was completely understandable. The pinkette's gaze remained locked on the woman lying before them. They both could have been killed—Fang almost had been.

"Well right now it's the only thing we have." Lightning pushed away from the taller Oerban, returning to sift through the contents of the bag, "Well, that and I'm pretty sure Aquinas was right about the Taejins working with someone on Cocoon." The pinkette continued to pull out the data pad and caches, laying them out on the moss, "My bet is on the Sanctum."

"The Sanctum?" Vanille fiddled with one of the data caches idly, "Because of their research into Gran Pulsian toxins?"

"That and the explosive they used to blow up the Palamecian teleporter was identical to the one used in the attempt to kill the Paddrasean priestess."

"What? How do you know what caused that explosion?"

"I was there." Lightning looked to see the confusion in Vanille's eyes. She took a deep breath and quickly explained the events leading up to the blast—including the presence of the Taejin and the Palamecian Knight Commander.

"The Knight Commander was there?" Vanille questioned but it was more in a hypothetical capacity, "That explains why you were unharmed—well other than your arm." There was a brief silence in the conversation, "You think he believed you about the Taejin?"

"It's possible. He knows the device was from Cocoon. I'm not sure if he managed to recover anything from it before he was taken into custody by Caius." Lightning began powering up the data pad, "If nothing's mentioned or turned up by now he was either successful at recovering and hiding it or there was nothing left to find."

"Either way it still doesn't really give us a reason for why the Sanctum and Taejins would be working together." Vanille commented.

"Or what the Taejins are building." Another silence fell upon the both of them. It was broken by Vanille motioning towards the device in Lightning's hands.

"What about on the artifact front?" She watched as Lightning began searching through data appearing on the screen on the screen of the pad, "You said you got what you went to Cocoon for. Something about… scanning for crystals?"

"While we were in Sanctum headquarters I managed to save data on scans I took of the area around the four tribes." Lightning explained, adjusting the data pad so Vanille could see clearer though not sure if the Oerban would be able to follow the readings entirely, "Their scanning devices shorted out before I could get anything substantial from Sulyya or Taejin's Tower though." The pinkette paused, "Did you know Taejin's Tower has no crystals in, under or around it for at least one hundred yards?" Vanille didn't seem too surprised at the question.

"I've only been to the tower twice, and it was long ago—neither times were for very long, nor were very pleasant."

"I tried rescanning while at Palamecia-"

"Wait…" Vanille halted the pinkette, "At Palamecia… where you were being bombarded with poison clouds and explosive devices?" Lightning just returned the Oerban's look with a roll of her eyes.

"This happened before that." She cleared her throat, "Barely—anyway, even with the increased power, the Palamecian scanners gave the result for Taejin's Tower, but for Sulyya…" She brought up an image of the scan. There were markers indicating crystal readings but in the middle of the screen, spanning almost half of it, was a large mass indicating an enormous amount of energy, "…Sulyya has this reading that's indicates more energy than even the Paddrasean artifact."

"So… you think there's an artifact somewhere here?" Vanille asked to verify what Lightning seemed to be implying.

"I think one of the keys is here." Vanille seemed to tense up at the mention. She swallowed hard as she met Lightning's eyes

"Where?"

"Well that's the thing, I can't tell exactly." Lightning motioned to the data pad, "I've tried cleaning up the image as best I can but there's so much power it's preventing me from pin-pointing exactly where it's coming from."

"Even if you could, it's likely underground and the only way to get to it is through the waterways." Lightning looked over at Vanille, questioningly, "Only the Sulyyans know exactly which waterway goes where. They cover more than just the springs too. They branch out all the way to the other tribes. It's how they get around for the most part." Lightning thought for a moment. It made sense, thinking back she'd never actually seen Aquinas leave Oerba when she visited. She'd always end up at the lake. It was the same for Paddra.

"You think the Sulyyans know about it?"

"It's certainly possible." Vanille shrugged, "It's also entirely possible that they'd deny it completely if asked about it." She tapped the data pad, "If whatever this is, is one of the keys like you say, then it's probably linked very closely to why the waters here hold so much power. It's also still in Sulyyan territory—the Sulyyans had their what was theirs taken from them once, they won't allow it a second time." Lightning shifted almost nervously as the Oerban's voice lowered, in both volume and tone, "And neither will I."

While she instinctively wanted to argue that finding the three keys was more important than any one tribe, she understood Vanille's comment—having learned more about Sulyya's history. She bit her tongue.

"There were no other readings like the one in Sulyya?" The question took a second for Lightning to comprehend, the sudden change of direction in the conversation throwing her slightly. The pinkette's mind flashed back to Palamecia, just before they were forced to leave. Her jaw tightened when as she threw a sidelong glance over at Fang, "Light?"

"Well there was something..." She began, "I don't exactly know how to expla-"

"Vanille." The sudden interruption caused both women to jump, Lightning nearly dropped the data pad as they looked to see two Sulyyans at the edge of the healing pool, "The Elders wish to speak with you."

"Right this second?" The Oerban sighed, obviously miffed at the timing.

"Now." The Sulyyan's directed their attention toward the pinkette, "The Viper can remain here."

"Can she at least be allowed to walk around? You can give her an escort." Vanille negotiated, "Between Enlil and the healing pool she's taken as much healing as she needs. It'd do her good to walk around, stretch her legs." The two Sulyyans looked at one another, clearly unsure as to whether to agree, but not entirely able to refuse Vanille. Lightning cracked a smirk, "At least let her near the lake." The pinkette's attention shifted to the Oerban. Once again she had a strange sense that Vanille knew she had seen Aquinas by the lake and more importantly, was curious about it.

"Fine, she will be permitted on the lowest tier, around the lake." The Sulyyans finally agreed to Vanille's terms. They turned to Lightning, their eyes cold, "Attempt anything of any threatening nature and you will be cut down." The spite behind the warning sent a shiver down the pinkette spine.

"It will not come to that." Vanille cut in before Lightning could respond. She gave the pinkette a small smile before moving toward the Sulyyans. The both of them gave a wary look towards Lightning before one of them turned and continued away from the healing pools with Vanille. The other remained standing. Lightning concluded he was her watch dog. She did not hesitate much before packing away the items she'd pulled from her bag. Not so much that she was that eager to explore—which she was—but she was more concerned about keeping any information taken from Cocoon away from Sulyyan attention.

Zipping the pack up, she tightened the shoulder strap and slung it over her good shoulder. It felt a little awkward but Lightning would adjust. She stepped toward the edge of the pool then hesitated, looking over her shoulder at the Sulyyan.

"I'm going to take a look around the lake." She stated, almost awkwardly. The Sulyyan didn't respond but the lack of argument told Lightning she would not be stopped. If she hadn't gotten used to being assigned watch dogs by more or less all three of the Gran Pulsian tribes she'd stayed with, the whole concept would have still bothered her. Presently though, she decided to let it go.

Finally finding her way to a set of steps that led down to the lower tiers, she followed it as it curved around along the cavern wall. She jumped over small streams, ducked under mini-waterfalls, continuing down until she reached the lowest tier. The lake seemed to span larger than it looked like it had from higher up. The towering mushroom-shaped islands glowed from their underside, revealing smaller creatures living within them.

Admiring the view above, she forgot to watch what was happening in front of her as she continued down a mossy path. Her foot caught a rather large root, sending her stumbling forward. While her body was no longer stiff, it was still slugging so she could not prevent herself from landing on her side, half in a stream of running water from one of the smaller waterfalls on the tier above. She sat up, grimacing slightly at an ache in her injured shoulder. Luckily she'd fallen on her other side, leaving the bandages dry.

As she sat up and pulled herself out of the stream, she caught the Sulyyan that had stayed to watch her, eying her from further up the path. She'd been entranced by Sulyya so completely, she'd actually forgotten he'd been following her. She remained sitting for a while, not really wanting to move. Whereas usually when one would trip and fall into a pool of water they'd immediately struggle to remain as dry as possible, Lightning felt no discomfort being wet nor impulsive urge to dry off as quickly as possible. Granted it was probably partially due to the logical part of her mind noting that there were likely very few places of Sulyya that were actually dry. But the water was cool and soothing against the skin.

Sulyya made it feel as though sitting in a pool were exactly the same as sitting in a perfect dry, wide open meadow; only instead of soft grass, it was crisp, cool water. It was a bizarre, foreign experience to Lightning but despite its unfamiliarity, she accepted that she'd never felt quite so relaxed—physically anyway.

A muffled giggle to her left snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned to see a young child half-hiding behind a small wall of rock. He was a boy that looked no older than maybe eight or nine, light eyes and hair, similar to Aquinas'.

"Hello." She said before she could stop herself.

"Hi." The boy responded with a hesitant smile. She could see the curiosity in his eyes, they reflected her own.

"Go on, talk to her!" She heard a second voice, "Come on, what? You scared now?"

"Shut up!" The boy hissed in response to whoever was still hidden behind the rock. Lightning cracked a smile as she saw two other heads pop into view. Another boy and girl, just as young and curious as the first.

"You're wearing clothes from Oerba." The second boy observed. Lightning briefly looked down at her attire before turning back to them and nodding, "But you aren't Oerban."

"We saw you." The first boy spoke up again, "Before you changed your clothes, you were wearing Viper clothes." The boy's voice was more inquisitive than it was accusing.

"That's because I am a Viper." Lightning responded, "…Was …a Viper."

"See, I told you!" The second boy nudged the first, who just shoved him back, "Hey!" The two of them immediately fell into a wrestling match, completely forgetting about hiding, rolling out into view, splashing in the shallow water around them.

"So what are you doing in Sulyya?" The girl spoke up again, stepping out as well. Lightning hadn't realized how small she looked. Her voice came out a whisper, barely audible.

"I'm sightseeing." She answered quietly with a small smile, "You have a beautiful village." The girl seemed to break into a proud grin.

"It's the prettiest of all the tribes." Lightning let out a chuckle and nodded. It certainly had something that neither Oerba nor Paddra did. And even though she'd never been to Taejin's Tower, she was sure it'd be the same, "You're not gonna hurt anyone…" The girl almost whispered, her grin fading, "…are you?" Lightning felt something twist deep in her gut. By then the other two had stopped fighting and were staring at her with odd expressions on their faces, having apparently heard the question and finding the answer much more intriguing.

"Of course n-"

"Children!" A shrill voice pierced the air, causing all of them—Lightning included—to jump about a foot in the air. The pinkette looked to see another Sulyyan, an adult woman walking towards them, "You two—what are you doing? You're supposed to be with the others, not wandering off." Her eyes flashed toward Lightning but for a moment, "It's dangerous." The pinkette let out a heavy sigh but did not speak. The children seemed to groan but obeyed and moved away from Lightning towards the woman. Having to walk by Lightning to join them, the girl stopped briefly before turning towards the pinkette. She held out a tiny hand, holding a small, delicate flower. Lightning blinked a few times before reaching and taking it.

"Welcome to Sulyya." The girl whispered again.

"Come now." The woman urged the children again but the girl was already scampering towards her, leaving Lightning bewildered, the flower still in her outstretched hand.

She stared at it and at with a closer look, she realized she'd never seen anything like it before. The stem was a bright blue, the leaves blending into a deep purple. The petals were translucent and appeared to glow a faint pink. As she rolled the stem between her fingers, she noticed the petals seemed almost like feathers, gently swaying and swirling in reaction to Lightning spinning them. She brushed her finger against one gently. It felt like impossibly light and thin—not unlike silk.

By the time she'd lifted her gaze to try and thank the girl, the four of them were already moving away. Lightning then realized that all of them had the same silver hair and eyes Aquinas did. Eyes and hair that glimmered like the waters. And not just them, all the Sulyyans she'd seen had been the same. She recalled back when she'd been barely conscious after being hunted by the Taejins. They'd immediately recognized Aquinas as a non-native to Oerba after mentioning her hair and eyes. As Lightning pushed off the ground to her feet, readjusting the bag on her back, she concluded it meant the tribe must have had a very deep connection to the springs. But what exactly?

Continuing around the edge of the lake, she came across many other Sulyyans. There were a few different expressions she noticed on many of their faces. Fear, anger, curiosity. Regardless of which, they all seemed unified in avoiding her. She didn't mind. What would she say to them if they had stopped to talk with her?

Eventually the pinkette found herself at the edge of the lake by the waterfall she'd last seen Aquinas. The crash of water against water was a lot more intimidating up close. Probably because she hadn't realized the waterfall was as large as it was. She peered into the water where Aquinas had slipped in. It wasn't much use, the distortion from the waterfall made it impossible to see anything below the surface. And something told her that her sanction to explore the lake did not include a dip.

"Don't tell me you can't swim." A voice from behind her startled her. She looked and saw Aquinas grinning widely at her. The brightness in her eyes and hair had returned and her small body no longer looked weak and fatigued, "Oh come on Light, it hasn't been that long."

"Aquinas." Lightning blurted out the name. The conversation she'd had with Vanille on the way to Sulyyan pushed itself forward from the back of her mind. The Sulyyan let out a sigh and seemed to think for a moment.

"Hey, I'll take it from here." She looked over to the man watching them both, "I got it." She cut him off as he opened his mouth. Not taking no for an answer, she moved past the pinkette, motioning for her to follow. Lightning did. She followed the Sulyyan girl in silence as she was led behind the waterfall through a narrow opening into a small passage. They followed it for a good two minutes or so. Lightning could tell they were slowly heading upwards. When they finally broke out into an open area, her eye had to adjust to the amount of sunlight she was met with.

"We're outside?" Lightning mumbled, recognizing the surface area of the springs. Looking back at the passage she noticed it seemed naturally hidden by the way the rock formations curved around it.

"Yeah, I wanted some fresh air." Aquinas stated, jumping across a set of stepping stones to cross one of the pools, "Besides, it's been a while since I've seen Enki." She motioned over her shoulder as she reached the other side. Lightning looked past her and finally realized the two odd mounds in the background were indeed the two woodwraiths, now on their sides. Sleeping? She followed Aquinas slowly as the Sulyyan bounded over, practically jumping on the larger of the two creatures. Enki grumbled and lifted his head but did not stand. Enlil remained silent and still.

"Enki isn't… your…" Lightning began to ask.

"My guardian beast?" Aquinas finished the question as she got comfortable on the top of the woodwraith's head, "No." She confirmed with a shake of her head, "He's Vanille's." The Sulyyan motioned between the two creatures, "They both are." Lightning had suspected as such but hearing it confirmed didn't make it any less… insane.

"So… Gran Pulsians can have more than one?"

"Not really, no." Aquinas shook her head again, "Vanille… is special." Lightning stared hard at the girl patting Enki's head. It was an amusing statement considering who was speaking it.

"She told you, didn't she?" Aquinas asked the question without looking at the pinkette.

"Wh-what?" Lightning honestly hadn't been prepared for the question. Nor had she expected the solemn and serious expression in Aquinas' eyes when the Sulyyan finally turned to look at her.

"Vanille. She told you everything. About-" Aquinas motioned to the surrounding area, "-this." She hesitated for a moment, "About me."

"You… died." Lightning caught herself at the last moment, contemplating leaving the subject be but curiosity got the better of her once more.

"I did." Aquinas confirmed, standing and jumping up to one of the funnels jutting out from Enki's shoulder.

"But…you're alive." The lack of sense Lightning felt coming from her mouth was driving her crazy.

"I am."

"Care you explain that one to me?" Usually she would have been in no mood for mind games but Sulyya's atmosphere seemed to have a greater soothing effect than she thought. The Sulyyan didn't speak for a while, merely studied Lightning, contemplating something pinkette couldn't begin to guess.

"By now you're probably aware of the healing properties of Sulyya's waters?" Lightning nodded, "After our visit from the Palamecians, our tribe retreated further into the caverns than we had ever gone before. The deeper you go, the stronger the waters' effect." Aquinas jumped from where she'd been standing to land lower on Enki's shoulder, "Over time, as the tribe settled there, it changed them—physically. Living for a decade surrounded by energy with power to affect the body like that, they grew reliant on it." Lightning slowly processed what Aquinas was saying, "The reason why the Sulyyan's are rarely—if ever—seen outside of Sulyya isn't really because they refuse to have contact with the other tribes."

"The springs weakened their immune systems…" Lightning concluded, her theory confirmed when Aquinas gave her a nod.

"When wandering around a world where each step you take could end with a foreign contaminant entering the body, not having the most basic means of fighting it doesn't make for a very appealing situation." The Sulyyan slid down from Enki's shoulder to end up sitting on his leg, "Out in the wild, a scratch would be fatal to them."

"But adaptation like that would take decades… centuries even." Lightning argued the scientific standpoint.

"You're forgetting the crystal factor." Aquinas seemed to understand Lightning's point but shook her head, "I doubt even your people have completely uncovered everything the crystals of Gran Pulse are capable of." The Sulyyan had a point. Since her arrival on the world below her own, Lightning had seen things she never had before—many involving the crystals in question.

"Alright. But that doesn't explain… you." Lightning returned the focus of the conversation to where it had started, "And you keep referring to your tribe as _'they'_." She added.

"You're an observant one, aren't you?" Aquinas smirked, "After I died, I woke up in a cavern I'd never seen before, never heard of before. I remembered everything but my wound was completely healed. That cavern… I still don't know how to describe it but I knew it was where Sulyya Springs gets its power." Lightning watched as Aquinas' expression grew even more difficult to read.

"Eventually, I found my way back to where the tribe was. None of them had actually seen me die so they assumed I'd just gotten lost in the panic. The first year, we spent clearing and rebuilding, never venturing far from the springs. When we finally decided to pay a visit to Oerba, those that left, didn't return. They died before could get half-way due to infection from bug bites." Lightning winced, "We learned of the springs' effect and it was decided that wandering too far was too dangerous so restrictions were placed on who left the village and for how long."

Enki grunted again when Aquinas jumped off his leg back onto the ground. She walked around to the side of his head, running a hand along it gently.

"After four years I couldn't stand the seclusion anymore. I snuck out of the village using waterways only I knew of and visited Oerba." A sad smile crossed the Sulyyan's lips, "By then we'd known the springs had slowed our aging process but I'd already noticed it was more apparent for me in particular. Vanille and Fang had grown. Vanille had just taken her brother's place as head of her clan and in turn, Oerba. Fang's responsibility as her guard had increased immensely as well."

"You didn't speak to them."

"What was I supposed to say? They hadn't seen me in years. Vanille watched me die." Aquinas' voice cracked but she recovered quickly, "I told myself they had enough to deal with at the time so I decided to stay away." The Sulyyan sighed heavily, "Anyway, on the way back I had a particularly unpleasant run in with a Triffid." She must have caught the strange expression on the pinkette's face, "Floating flowers, pretty but with nasty spiked tails filled with poison that kills you slowly?" A breed of stalker, right. Lightning nodded and motioned for her to continue, "I should have died having been directly injected with its poison but by the time I'd reached the village I was perfectly fine. For a while after that I began venturing father from Sulyya, many of the times sustaining injuries that should have killed a normal Sulyyan within hours. But each time my body would… heal itself. Cuts, bruises, even minor bone fractures and breaks."

"So you're body is… indestructable?" Aquinas laughed heartily at the comment.

"I wouldn't go nearly that far." She shook her head, "I still feel pain and I'm pretty sure if I was stabbed through the heart or had my head lopped off I'd stay that way." Lightning didn't find the last part of the statement as amusing as Aquinas apparently, "And there's the part where if I'm away from Sulyya for longer than a week my body begins to deteriorate." Lightning frowned, "It's kind of like… I'm a container for Sulyya's power—a battery, sort of." The analogy was cold but helped the pinkette understand, "That power_ is_ my life. Any time I spend away from its source and any time I use it to heal—myself or others—uses it up."

Lightning's mind flashed back to the times Aquinas had suddenly left Oerba after a few days of visiting. How she grew unnaturally tired and weary nearer the time she left and fully recovered whenever she returned. She remembered when Vanille was against Aquinas healing—particularly when Caius had wanted her to heal the priestess. And when she'd arrived with Fang, no doubt using what she could of her power to keep the Oerban stable on the journey to Sulyya.

"You body doesn't age." Lightning commented.

"No, it doesn't." Aquinas confirmed, "Where the rest of the Sulyyans merely have their aging processes slowed, mine has stopped completely." The Sulyyan cast her eyes downward, almost as if she were ashamed, "So long as I continue to live off Sulyya's power, I'll always remain with the body of a fifteen-year-old."

"Vanille and Fang know this?"

"To an extent." Aquinas nodded, "Vanille knows a little more. Fang still has… trouble with it—not with the understanding. She just… refuses to linger on anything that reminds her of that night." Lightning understood why, "Everyone in Sulyya knows how I… work… what I am—probably most of Oerba does too since we opened up to them four years ago. They just don't know how it happened—how it works."

"Sulyya's source of power." Aquinas nodded.

"People might have guessed it exists but no one knows where it is."

"You never told anyone?" Aquinas shook her head.

"I wanted to but… I never did, can't really explain why." Lightning raised an eyebrow, "Hey and it's not like anyone really asked. The entire topic is surrounded by eggshells. People got used to my bizarre existence so I figured I could too." The pinkette watched the slight discomfort flash across the Sulyyan's face, "Besides, no one knew about the power source before, can't do much harm if it stays hidden, right?"

Unless it was a key that could help prevent the destruction of both Cocoon and Gran Pulse. The thought finally occurred to Lightning. She could have kicked itself for allowing it to take so long. As she contemplated telling Aquinas about it, she found the Sulyyan's eyes staring straight at her, with an almost cold, calculating gleam in them. It was similar to a look she'd seen Vanille give her when she knew more than she let on—when it was like she knew what Lightning was thinking. It momentarily staggered the pinkette.

"Of course, things could get really complicated if it were discovered by say…" An exaggerated shrug, accentuated the false pause of thought, "…those not native to Gran Pulse. Those willing to go to certain… extremes to get their hands on that kind of power." There was a small flicker of anger that rose in Lightning at what the Sulyyan was insinuating but Aquinas continued before she could retort, "Your pack." The pinkette's hand went instinctively to the strap as Aquinas motioned to it, "When I went to pick up Fang, she the contents of the bag were spilled out across the ground and she was holding the data pad. By then she'd lost consciousness but the display showed the readings you took of Sulyya."

Lightning thought for a moment. Considering how little interest Fang seemed to show in the readings before, it seemed odd she'd be studying them—especially considering she was poisoned and in no shape to be doing much of anything. Then it hit her.

"She wanted to warn you." Lightning sighed heavily. It was Aquinas' turn to give the pinkette a quizzical look, "She probably at least knows _of_ Sulyya's power source. She knew I'd find it while scanning and she used the data pad to let you know."

"And should I be worried?" Aquinas quirked an eyebrow, "That you know?"

"Well I don't really _'know' _anything." Lightning explained, "I only know there is something extremely powerful here." She held Aquinas' gaze, lowering her voice, "And I will tell you what I told the Sulyyans before you, I wish neither you nor your tribe any harm."

"And I believe you." Aquinas immediately stated, slightly throwing Lightning for a moment, "I don't know why but... I trust you." The pinkette wasn't quite sure how to respond, "I mean I just gave you, someone from Cocoon—a former Palamecian at that—the entire explanation of my being. Something not even Vanille knows about fully." Lightning noted the Sulyyan seemed surprised. She only now just realized this? "..huh..." The two stood in a slightly awkward silence for a while until Aquinas suddenly seemed to jump, a look of realization crossing her face.

"What-?"

"Fang's awake." Lightning's heart skipped a beat as she convinced herself she had not misheard. The thought to ask how exactly Aquinas knew about Fang's state crossed her mind briefly before she recalled their most recent conversation regarding her peculiar link to the springs. Aquinas gave Enki one last pat before walking past Lightning towards the entrance they'd used when they'd first arrived, "Well come on then." The Sulyyan motioned for the pinkette to follow, walking quickly but with an air of casualness that would have seemed contradictory if anyone else had been doing so.

Following Aquinas into and deeper through the caverns, she noticed the nearer they got to the village, the more the Sulyyan's hair seemed to shine. She recalled that though they shared the same silvery color in their hair and eyes, none of the other Sulyyans she'd come across had quite the same… radiance about them. Even the children like the ones she'd met before Aquinas had found her. Their hair and eyes were bright but it was definitely different from Aquinas. Well, other than the girl. She touched where she'd tied the flower to her belt, tucked under the end of the bag on her back. She paused in her step for a moment, thinking back to the small girl who had handed her the flower and welcomed her to Sulyya. Her hair had been more of a pure white than a silver gray. And her eyes had been a deep gold.

* * *

**A/N :.**

Well then. That was interesting.  
I so wish I could draw my idea of Sulyya. It looks so cool in my head.

And by the way, before I get the whole _"Rawr Aquinas is so annoying, so OP, such a mary-sue, blah blah blah."_Let me just say that as a reader of fanfiction myself, I understand how annoying mary-sue-type characters can be. And I try my best to give my OCs character without letting them turn into that.

HOWEVER, believe me when I say Aquinas was necessary to help with the explanation of my version of Sulyya but is even more integral for some of the other events in later chapters.

Think what you will but I am stating now that I do not view Aquinas as a self-insert, I certainly do not wish for her to outshine the canon characters and I apologize if it seems like I am doing so. Rest assured, her time in the spotlight has ended for now.

OKay *rant off*

Oh and it's my freakin' story, I can write what I damn well please. You don't like it, try writing your own.

Okay, I'm done now, really.  
Have a nice day =]


	23. Heart

**.:.:: Chapter 22  
.:.:: Heart**

* * *

By the time Lightning and Aquinas got back to the healing pool, Fang had indeed regained consciousness. She was halfway through an attempt to pull herself into a sitting position. Observing the expression on her face, it did not look painless.

"Whoa there..." Aquinas reached the Oerban first, practically jumping on the slab before unceremoniously pushing Fang back into a laying position.

"Gah-! What the-!" Fang let out a surprised grunt that caused Lightning to wince, "What in the bloody hell, Aq-"

"You shouldn't be up yet."

"I also probably should be slammed down against any rocks either." Fang scowled, moving to sit up again. She swatted Aquinas' second—clearly half-hearted—attempt to stop her. The Sulyyan merely sighed and shrugged.

"It's what Vanille would've said."

"Yeah, well, Vanille ain't here right now, is she?"

Lightning observed their interaction a little differently after spending time with Aquinas, learning about the Grand Pulsian's pasts. From what they'd spoken about, Fang, despite being uncomfortable around the subject, was aware of Aquinas' aging situation—or lack thereof. Though the Oerban must have been aware that Aquinas was technically older than her, it appeared she had no problem treating her like the fifteen-year-old she looked like. And the Sulyyan didn't seem to mind playing the part. While Lightning decided it wasn't her place to voice opinion on the matter, she couldn't help but wonder if the dynamic was just a way to 'sweep the mess under the rug' so to speak. The both of them aside, Vanille tended to act mature enough for the both of them for the most part.

The Oerban finally noticed Lightning as the pinkette stopped at the slab she had occupied before wandering down towards the lake. The both of them seemed to stop breathing as their eyes met. Clearly the silence was of the uncomfortably awkward variety but neither women pulled their eyes away.

"You're right, Fang." Aquinas' voice put them both out of their misery, diverting their attention from one another, "I should probably go check on her."

So much for that diversion...

The Sulyyan did a quick check over Fang's wounds—what she could with the Oerban constantly waving her off. Once done she looked over at the pinkette. Lightning's eyes were focused on Fang but when she realized Aquinas was looking at her she immediately turned them away. Quirking an eyebrow, Aquinas returned her attention to Fang who seemed to find her feet—hanging off the slab, submerged in the healing pool—extremely fascinating. One could probably have heard the Sulyyan roll her eyes through the awkard silence.

"Okay then... you two have fun." She pulled away, making her way to the other side of the pool.

"Huh-?!"

"A-Aqui-" The both of them called to her as she stepped out of the pool. She turned to look over her shoulder with a smirk, motioning between them.

"Oh, I meant have fun..." A sly, suggestive smile, "But no slamming down against any rocks-"

"Wha-Aqui!" Fang threw a loose piece of moss at the swiftly-retreating Sulyyan who easily evaded it, her giggles echoed until she was out of sight.

Fang let out an annoyed string of curses as she turned her attention to herself. She surveyed her body, checking on her would and the extent of their healing. Lightning merely watched in silence—only partly out of not wanting to interrupt. She did observe that Fang seemed to take just a little too long studying her injuries. Most of the cuts and gashes had closed if not were well on their way to being fully healed. What had done her the most harm had been the poison—now mostly drained from her but still, couldn't quite be examined as easily.

In short: Neither of them had any idea what to say to the other.

"So how did-"

"Fang I-"

They cut each other off, the silence getting no less awkward. Fang did, however, turn to face the pinkette finally, not to look into her eyes so much as the bandages wrapped around her head and shoulder. She swallowed visibly. Lightning's hand moved reflexively to touch them gently.

"They'll heal." She answered Fang's silent question and received a small nod in return, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just had all my insides coated with acid before having them ripped outta me." The reply, despite being a fair description of her recent ordeal, did little to ease the air of discomfort between them. The subtle look of regret that flashed across Fang's face right after she'd said it assured Lightning she hadn't meant any hostility, "Other than that, I'm kinda surprised to be honest." Lightning's head tilted questioningly. Fang motioned to their surroundings, "Sulyya? I'm impressed you managed to make it back to Paddra—but Sulyya..."

"Vanille brought us here." Lightning explained, "Well, Aquinas brought you, technically."

"Vanille and... but ho-" Fang cut herself off in realization, "You must have met Enki and Enlil then." The pinkette only scoffed in response. Fang broke into a grin. Lightning noticed and felt herself relax. Whether it was from the other woman's softened expression or the healing pool's effect she couldn't tell. She decided not to think too much on it.

"Still, for you to be this far into Sulyya is quite a feat in itself." Fang continued, "Vanille and Aquinas must have work some impressive magic."

"Well, it's not as though they prepared a welcoming party." Lightning sighed, "...in the traditional sense, anyway." She motioned to Fang, "Besides, the Oerban near death seemed to help persuade them." The pinkette's eyes darkened—something not missed by Fang. The atmosphere began turning grim.

"How long has it been?" The Oerban asked.

"A little over half a day since I made it back to Paddra it seems." Lightning reported. She hesitated before asking a question of her own, "How much... do you remember?"

_**:::**_

_Coarse lips moved against her own, begging—pleading almost—for a reaction.  
A sigh as the kiss deepened.  
Thudding in her chest as warmth spread outward from it-_

_**:::**_

"Not much." The answer was short, given without hesitation, almost immediately that Lightning nearly missed it. Fang ran a hand through her hair, "Bits and pieces I guess... I remember waking up in the rain, telling you about the light caves... and then telling you to get help." Lightning felt her chest tighten as she listened to Fang. Inability to remember things while that heavily poisoned wasn't unreasonable. And it's not as if she was completely ready to discuss _that_ particular event herself.

So why did she feel... hurt?

"Why? Did something happen?" Fang's voice brought her attention back to the Oerban before freezing. She didn't answer for what felt like ages, her mouth merely parting slightly as if preparing to say something—anything. The curious look turning to concern on Fang's face forced Lightning's mind to move. This was neither the time nor place to discuss something like that. All she had to do was deny it happened-

"You kissed me." She blurted out.

And just like that, any every little bit of awkwardness that had dissipated, returned tenfold in a torrential wave. Lightning's mind momentarily blanked. Not even the soothing effects of the healing pool could calm her nerves that felt like they were on fire. What the hell had she just-?!

"I did what, now?" Fang asked, speaking slowly, as if not sure whether she'd actually heard correctly or not. Suddenly, she let out an obviously forced laugh, "Did you the blow to your head get you harder than you thought there?" The pinkette licked her lips, ignoring the poor attempt at deflecting humor. There was no backing out now.

"In the caves." Lightning said, willing her voice not to shake, "I asked you about your vision—what you saw when we touched the Paddrasean artifact." She forced herself to look into Fang's eyes. Emerald orbs bore in her, filled with a mix of emotion she couldn't read clearly, "You told me you see flashes of the past." Fear began filling Fang's eyes. It wasn't Lightning's intention to scare the Oerban but she couldn't stop. Some time within the last few moments she'd decided she couldn't be the only one bearing such a secret, "You said the flashes were memories. Memories that couldn't exist." At that, Fang turned her eyes away. But Lightning refused to let her avoid the subject, "Then you kissed me."

"I... don't remember-"

"You're lying." Fang shot Lightning a hard glare but the pinkette kept her own gaze firm. Eventually the Oerban turned away with an frustrated sigh.

"Why does it feel like this has happened before..?"

"Because it has." Fang had muttered the hypothetical question but Lightning had heard and answered just the same. In the cave Fang had denied she remembered her visions and the pinkette had called her out on it.

"No, I mean... before..." The Oerban sighed heavily, "Before... this—before we even..." She trailed off, shaking her head before eventually meeting Lightning's eyes once more. A beat of silence before she forced a grin, "Maybe if I you give me a little reminder?" The teasing comment and suggestive gesture to her lips were obviously another attempt to make a joke out of the situation. The faint urge to act on the temptation was drowned out by the pain in Lightning's chest that sparked into anger. She bit her tongue, barely able to keep from lashing out.

"Forget it." The pinkette spat before pulling the pack off her back and over her shoulder to lay it on the slab beside her. She didn't notice the frown that formed on Fang's face.

The dull ache in the Oerban's body was nothing compared to the stab in her own chest from the tone of the pinkette's voice. Of course she'd been lying. How in all hell could she have forgotten something so... so... Fang still couldn't describe it.

Fang remembered perfectly that she'd kissed the other woman. Twice. And while she had been lying about recalling them, she honestly wasn't sure what had compelled her to do so. She'd been conscious but it was though she hadn't been in full control of her body. As if in those few moments—moments she couldn't deny were unlike anything she'd ever felt before—she was sharing her body with someone else. Someone else who cared for Lightning in a way she couldn't fully understand yet.

Yet?

"-rea around the village?" Lightning's voice snapped her back to reality. She blinked away the haze that ensnared her mind to see the pinkette digging around in her pack.

"Wh..what?" Fang said, still in the process of focusing her attention.

"How much do you know about the area around the village?" Lightning repeated her question with a fitting quizzical look toward the Oerban.

"I... know my way around well enough." Fang answered, noticing the datapad in the pinkette's hand.

"Right," Lightning waved the datapad toward her, "Enough to know about something worth hiding?"

"What?" Fang watched as the pad flickered to life, displaying the readings of Sulyya that had been taken on Cocoon. While she hadn't seen them while on the moon, she had seen them before; when she'd left the pad for Aquinas to find. Had Lightning found out? She had already lost consciousness by the time Aquinas had found her but since Lightning had the pack she was sure the Sulyyan had handled the datapad somehow before returning it to the pinkette. Fang didn't find it likely Aquinas would confront Lightning about it if she had made sense of the warning she'd tried to send.

"Fang if you know something about whatever this is..."

"And if I don't?"

"Then we're no closer to finding the keys from the message." Lightning snapped, "And no closer to preventing whatever chaos comes if they aren't found." The Oerban could tell Lightning was getting increasingly frustrated, in general and with her specifically. She knew she had to meet the pinkette halfway for at least one of the topics brought up—neither of which she was particularly comfortable discussing.

Confusing jumble of personal feelings concerning the lip-lock with beautifully irritable woman in front of her? Or the possibility of revealing something about a neighboring village that would more than likely put them at odds with not just her but her entire tribe? Talk about a lose-lose situation.

She clicked her tongue and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. As her eyes diverted from the pinkette, she noticed something near the edge of the pool. Pushing herself off the stone slab, she slowly lugged her body toward the edge.

"Fang? What're you-hey!" The pinkette practically jumped toward the Oerban as she'd overestimated the amount of strength and control she had over her body. She stumbled and was barely caught by Lightning as the two tumbled against the side of the pool with a small splash, sending water over the edge.

"Nice catch." Fang muttered as she pulled herself to sit against the side.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lightning's tone was clearly cold but her choice to also remain sitting in the pool instead of pulling herself out of it indicated she had little energy to spare in order to hold a proper argument anymore.

Fang took the chance for a distraction, swiveling around to grasp a thick fine that grew over the edge of the pool, hanging down over the tier below them. With a grunt she yanked it hard a few times, pulling a good few feet worth of the vine up and over the edge revealing the lower section bearing brightly colored flowers atop plump orbs slightly larger than her fist. She picked a few off the vine before letting it slide back and fall over the edge. She gathered the bundle of them along the edge of the pool where she and Lightning were sitting.

"You... brought me flowers?"

"Funny, sunshine." Lightning's felt her heart flutter at the casual use of the nickname, "They're fruit—Sulyya peaches—here..." Fang handed one to her before taking one of her own. Lightning watched as the other woman took the flower on top and pulling it free, "Pull out the flower-" As she pulled it away, it also took a chunk of the inside, coated with small seeds, "-drink the extra juice." bringing the remaining orb to her lips, Fang drank the juices within the fruit, "Then eat." She pulled apart the orb and placed a slice in her mouth.

Lightning looked at the fruit in her own hands. The flower was deep pink with green tips, the fruit beneath was a bright orange. Grasping the flower, she pulled. It slipped off easily, emptying out the seeds of the fruit. She saw the juices within and brought the orange orb to her lips and drank. It was incredibly sweet, almost sickeningly so but not quite as there was only a few gulps worth. Once finished, she glanced over at Fang who was already almost finished with hers. Slowly the pinkette pulled at the peach, tearing off a slice before taking a bite.

The initial bite into it was hard a thin crips skin earned Lightning a crunch but immediately after, it was soft but not mushy. It's taste was almost bitter but as it was still coated from the juices it was offset slightly. It was an odd mixture of tastes and textures, but all in all it was a pleasant mouthful. After the first few bites, Lightning finally realized how hungry she'd been. Understandable as neither of them had eaten since before they'd made their way to Cocoon.

"Have you been having visions?" Fang's question popped out of nowhere after a long while of silence. By this time the Oerban was already on her third peach while Lightning had grabbed and was beginning her second. The pinkette had known the sudden introduction of food had been yet another attempt to maneuver away from the topic but if Fang was going to speak up about it, she wasn't about to let the opportunity go—even if it was Fang asking the questions.

"I wouldn't call them visions." Lightning answered, playing with a slice of the peach between her fingers, "It's more like... I've been... seeing things—people."

"Like the girl in Sanctum headquarters."

"Yeah." Lightning turned to Fang, "You remember her."

"Well yeah, she kinda ran into me-" Fang scoffed, "-through me." She corrected, putting a hand over her chest, "Not to mention, she looked almost exactly like you."

"Yeah."

"What'd you say her name was?" Lightning hesitated before answering. Not because she didn't remember, but because the name felt heavy on her soul, it weighed down on her as though it was more than just a name belonging to something more than just a girl.

"Serah."

"And you don't know who this Serah is?"

"I... don't think so." The simple question was difficult to answer, "I'm not sure."

"You're not sure if you know someone?" Fang's habit of repeating ones answers had a way of sparking something in Lightning that kept her focused on the conversation—despite it slightly irritating her. She decided it was time to go on the offensive.

"When she ran into you, when you hit the ground, it looked like you were having another vision." The pinkette noticed the other woman visibly tense up, "Do you remember that one?" The Oerban didn't answer, which was really an answer in itself judging by her body language and its similarity to whenever questioned about any of her other visions. Before Lightning could sigh however, Fang cleared her throat.

"It was... of the past." The Oerban began, "Like the others." Through a sigh, Fang continued, "Look, all my visions have been like they're through the eyes of someone other than myself, in a world that's different from this one, with people..." She trailed off, meeting Lightning's eyes, "People I shouldn't know."

"So... it's like dejavu?" Lightning decided to try Fang's technique of responding with a question.

"Like dejavu on stalker-nectar." Fang mumbled. Lightning raised a brow, "Uh... jacked up, y'know, like on overdrive?"

"I see." The pinkette thought for a moment, the rest of her peach remaining uneaten. What Fang was saying was far from impossible—especially given some of the recent events and her own hallucinations. Not to mention in the instance of the kiss; right after, the look on Fang's face had read like she'd done something she shouldn't have, which had given Lightning the impression it wasn't actually meant for her. The realization of the feeling sparked a familiar yet unknown pain in her chest.

"Look, if you're looking for an apology I-"

"I'm not." Lightning blurt out before thinking, "I mean, I just... wanted to know what you were thinking is all."

"Good, because I ain't sorry." Came a mutter from the Oerban, "Well, because I wasn't thinking. I wasn't myself. Wasn't in control and all that."

"Right."

"Yeah."

Another silence, still awkward but significantly lighter than before. Fang played with one of the peach flowers as Lightning slipped another slice into her mouth.

"Well if the both of you are finished arguing without really arguing-" A voice shattered the silence, sending Fang jumping about a foot in the air and Lightning's half-eaten peach slipping from her hands to fall into the water in front of her, "-I'd be grateful if you'd get out of the water so I can check your wounds."

"Aw, Vanille, we were just getting to the good part!" The two women sitting in the water looked to see Vanille standing with her arms folded, eyebrow raised, between the two stone slabs and Aquinas laying on her front atop one of them, face cradled in her hands, feet swaying behind her, "They were at the kiss-and-make-up part."

"Shut up, ya brat." Fang tossed the flower at the Sulyyan, who easily evaded it, rolling off the side onto her feet.

"Aquinas," Vanille sighed as she helped Fang to her feet as Lightning had more or less scrambled to hers as soon as she'd heard they weren't alone, "Please at least try not to do anything that might cause extra stress to Fang's body."

"I dunno," The Sulyyan waved the flower that had been tossed at her, "Seems just peachy to me."

"Okay, that was lame, even for you." Fang muttered as Vanille sat her down on the slab. Aquinas caught Lightning's eye.

"It was a little lame." The pinkette admit, fighting to hold back a smirk at the face Aquinas made at the flower she was holding. It was a cross between disbelief, defeat and disgust. She tossed the flower aside.

"You're right, I apologize, please ignore that."

"So what did the Elders say?" Fang moved the conversation along as Vanille lay her down, already checking the wounds on her body.

"Well they weren't ecstatic finding an exhausted Aquinas, a fatally wounded Oerban and a former Palamecian on their hands." Vanille answered honestly, "But for now they've allowed us all to stay until we figure out our next move.

"Which is... what, by the way?" Aquinas spoke up, moving to sit on Lightning's slab as Fang was now occupying the most of hers.

"I don't know but we aren't going anywhere or doing anything remotely dangerous until both these two are fully recovered." Vanille stated an immediate plan of action that was not up for debate.

Lightning sighed as she went to sift through her pack again. Her only real lead at the moment was the scan and little information she had on Sulyya. The fact that she was already within the village made it an even better place to start. But she knew wandering around and exploring until she found what she was looking for was going to be hard with her status as an ex-Palamecian. Vanille, as Chief of Oerba, probably wasn't the best candidate to be snooping around either and Fang was still recovering. While Aquinas had been understanding in Lightning's interest in her village the pinkette couldn't say whether it would be appropriate to ask the native to-

"Lightning." Suddenly a hand gripped her wrist. The grip wasn't painful, but was tight, firm and told Lightning it would take more than a little effort to break free of it. The pinkette looked up to see Aquinas staring down at her pack, she followed the Sulyyan's eyes to land on the small flower she'd tied to the strap of the pack she was holding, "Where did you get this." Aquinas motioned to it, her silver eyes darting to meet Lightning's. There was a coldness behind them she'd never seen before.

"I..."

"This flower." Aquinas pulled it free and held it up in front of the pinkette, "Where did you get it?"

By now the other two had noticed the strange atmosphere around the two of them.

"Aquinas?" Vanille called but the Sulyyan ignored the Oerban. Her focus was completely on Lightning, her expression implying that Lightning's answer would heavily affect whether or not the subtle hostility from the Sulyyan would continue or not.

"I... it was given to me," Lightning answered truthfully, "By a girl, while I was walking around earlier. Just before I met you by the lake." The grip around her wrist loosened slightly but did not break.

"A girl?" Disbelief reigned Aquinas' voice though her clear eyes were now showing signs of desperation and almost fear, over coldness, "A Sulyyan?"

"Yes, a girl and two boys were playing on the tier above, they asked some questions, a woman came to lead them away and before the girl left, she gave me the flower." Lightning recalled quickly. She forced herself to hold the Sulyyan's eyes. After a few moments, Aquinas released her wrist, backing away slightly, eyes dropping down to the flower she cradled in her hand.

"Did the girl tell you her name?"

"No, but she had white hair and gold eyes." Aquinas' head snapped up once more, her eyes now filled with confusion. The pinkette dared a glance toward the other two. Fang's brow was furrowed while Vanille simply looked deep in thought.

"Are you sure, Light?" The smaller Oerban finally spoke up.

"Yes, that's how I can remember so clearly." Lightning explained, looking between Vanille and Aquinas, "Because she seemed different to all the other Sulyyan's I'd seen so far."

"That's just it," She looked to Aquinas, who still had the perplexed look on her face, "I know every Sulyyan that lives in the village." She shook her head, "All of us have silver hair and eyes."

_"And_ y_ou know why"_, her eyes seemed to add at the end.

"Look, that's what happened, alright?" Lightning said through a sigh, "That's what I saw."

"Maybe it was one of your delusions." The sudden suggestion from Fang seemed slightly out of place as the other three turned to her, "I mean... y'know like the ones you've been getting of Serah."

"Serah?" Vanille questioned, looking between the two of them, "Who's Serah?"

Lightning didn't answer, she was currently replaying the meeting of her and the girl in her mind. It was clear as day. Two boys and the girl. The boys had spoken first, then the girl. She'd been given the flower and then the woman had appeared to lead them away-

_**:::**_

_"You two—what are you doing? You're supposed to be with the others, not wandering off." _

_**:::**_

Two?

_**:::**_

_"You're not gonna hurt anyone…" The girl almost whispered, her grin fading, "…are you?" Lightning felt something twist deep in her gut. By then the other two had stopped fighting and were staring at her with odd expressions on their faces, having apparently heard the question and finding the answer much more intriguing. _

_**:::**_

Had they been waiting for her answer? Or had they been staring at her because to them, she'd been talking to herself? Her mind raced as the possibility of Fang's suggestion became a more and more likely explanation.

"-llucinations? Serah? Just what exactly is going on?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Aquinas and Vanille's voices brought Lightning back to the present. She turned to find the Sulyyan looking her expectantly.

"Look hallucination or not, it's what I saw," Lightning stated, "Why would I lie about a flower?"

"It's about where this particular flower comes from." Aquinas stated, holding it up.

"What about we step back and you explain exactly what's so special about _'this particular fl_-" As Vanille reached for the plant in Aquinas' hand while trying to ease the confrontational atmosphere, the Sulyyan quickly jerked it away, as if scared to let anyone near it. Vanille noticed and withdrew her hand but didn't back away.

Lightning watched as Aquinas looked between the flower and the pack resting on the slab next to her. She could tell the girl was struggling with a decision as to whether or not explain to them the importance of the flower and it's obvious connection to their search for answers for the questions raised by the message from the Paddrasean artifact. The pinkette understood the conflict but was firm in her mission to prevent the prophecy shown to her.

"You want to know what this flower is." Aquinas stated more than asked; to all of them rather than one in particular, "I can't tell you." She didn't wait for an answer, "I have to show you." Lightning looked toward the other two, who looked equally bewildered, "But not now, later tonight." The Sulyyan hesitated before holding out the flower back to Lightning. The pinkette took it, handling it more carefully than before without thinking—as though suddenly it was a delicate piece of the puzzle she'd found herself trapped in since exiled from Cocoon.

"Make sure you're all rested by then." The Sulyyan said, her tone more serious than it'd ever been, with an commanding edge that rivaled even Yeul when she was serious. With that Aquinas left, swiftly before any of them could inquire anything further.

After a few moments of silence as the tension in the air seemed to subside with Aquinas' departure, Vanille moved to examine the flower in Lightning's hands. Gaining approval from the pinkette, she gently took it into her own to study it further. Lightning could see clearly that it really was something the Oerban hadn't ever seen before.

With a glance over at Fang, she saw an expression of intense unease on her face. She didn't bother asking any more questions. It was clear the Oerbans were equally in the dark about whatever Aquinas had brought up. All they could really do now was wait until nightfall.

**:::**

**Later that night**

The afternoon passed slowly but it didn't bother Lightning. After thoroughly examining the flower and returning it to the pinkette, Vanille continued to watch over Fang's recovering, forcing her to remain at the healing pool. Lightning had chosen to explore more of the surrounding area of Sulyya but never ventured far and returned to remain at the pool once the light streaming from the gape in the rock ceiling had completely gone. It must have been dark up on the surface; despite this, Sulyya remained brightly lit by the water and crystals in the water.

Eventually Aquinas returned, her expression no less serious than just before she'd left. She carried a long, thin but sturdy-looking vine, coiled around her torso and upper body.

"Follow me." It was more of a command than anything.

"Aquinas," Vanille spoke, a worried expression crossing her face as Fang sat up, "Where are you taking us?" The Sulyyan didn't immediately respond, nor did she meet the Oerban's eyes. She did however, steal a glance toward Lightning who was already making her way toward her.

"Do you want answers to your questions or not?" Again, the 'question' was less of a question and more of an ultimatum. _ 'Follow me or forget about learning anything that has to do with Sulyya and it's connection to your prophecy.' _ With that, she moved away, making her way towards a slope leading down to the lake. Lightning followed with little hesitation. Something about the current look Aquinas had and her abrupt change in personality, sparked the pinkette's curiosity and compelled her to obey.

Fang, her body recovered enough for her to move about freely, pushed off the stone slab. She felt a small hand on her arm and looked to see an expression on Vanille's face that she wasn't altogether unused to but hadn't seen for quite a while. She pulled the smaller Oerban into a light hug to give her some reassurance in a situation where words couldn't.

"You know Aquinas doesn't get like that without a damn good reason."

"I know." Vanille admit reluctantly. She knew and it was half the reason for her worry.

"C'mon." The taller of the two moved to follow Aquinas and Lightning, pulling Vanille after her.

The Sulyyan led them to where she had met Lightning earlier. As the others joined her at the water's edge, they noticed Aquinas slinging the vine off her shoulder. She moved to Lightning and began tying a section around the pinkette. While she didn't resist, Lightning gave Aquinas a questioning look.

"To get to where we're going we'll have to swim through a multitude of waterways." The Sulyyan explained, moving to repeat the process of tying the vine around Fang's waist, "These waterways have stronger currents than the others and are completely submerged." There was a small length of loose vine between the Oerban and Lightning—around 3 feet, give or take, "I can't have you swept away to end up drowning before you can get to an air-pocket."

As she finished tying the vine around Fang, the taller Oerban noticed she had moved to tie the vine around her own waist, skipping Vanille.

"What about Vanille?" Aquinas looked over at the light-haired woman in question as she finished securing the vine around herself. She moved to loop it around Vanille, leaving less than a foot between them. She saw that the others noticed and ignored the odd stares they gave her—Vanille's including a frown.

"No complaining." The firm tone in the Sulyyan's voice hadn't lightened in the slightest, keeping her in command, "You know you swim worse than Fang so I'm keeping you as close as possible." A brief look passed between them but as soon as Aquinas had tied off the vine, she returned to explaining.

"Follow me closely, use the walls to steer you if you need. There are a series of air-pockets that we'll hit along the way so you two keep your eyes on where I swim up." The Sulyyan then turned to prepare to jump into the lake, moving to take Vanille's hand. Fang and Lightning both prepared themselves to do the same.

As the four of them slid into the cool water, Lightning noticed Fang hesitate slightly before slipping in. The Oerban's attempt at masking her dislike of the large body of water didn't fool the pinkette.

"Feel free to hold hands if it makes you more comfortable." Aquinas called from where she was moving out toward the center of the lake, her voice lacking in any of its usual teasing tone. Vanille was practically wrapped around the Sulyyan, not even attempting to hide the fact swimming was not her forte. It didn't seem to bother Aquinas much, her movements unhindered by the extra body mass.

"Shut up, brat." Fang muttered before pushing off the edge to follow. The tug at her waist prompted Lightning to follow suit, remaining as close to Fang as possible without crowding her.

The moonlight shining down from the opening high above provided little light compared the the water itself. Even clearer than it was in the day, the the entirety of the lake floor could been seen from where they were swimming. Multicolored plants decorated glowing rocks, hiding creatures preparing for the night. The underwater scene was so entrancing, Lightning almost swam into the others, not realizing they'd stopped—a few feet from the largest rock pillar towering up toward the cave ceiling.

"The opening is under the pillar, the first air-pocket after that is a good few meters." Aquinas explained, moving to keep Vanille in front of her so she could propel them both from behind. She threw a glance over at Lightning and Fang, "I wasn't kidding about the hand-holding." She said with a serious expression, "The current will be against us for the first few air-pockets. I move better under water than I do on land but I can't swim for four without help."

"Light." Vanille spoke up, gaining their attention, "Please keep an eye on Fang."

"I'm not a child-"

"But you are still recovering." The smaller Oerban stated with finality in her tone, her eyes not leaving the pinkette's. Lightning just nodded.

"Alright then." Aquinas cleared her throat, "Deep breaths." With that, she and Vanille disappeared under the surface. The remaining two barely managed a glance before they were forced to follow at the tug of the vine around their waists.

As they swam, Lightning found keeping her eyes open was less of a chore than she'd thought. The water didn't irritate her eyes as she swam and was crystal clear giving her a perfect view of where she was going. She'd decided to keep behind Fang as they entered the narrow passage Aquinas had taken Vanille. She, like Fang, had to use the surrounding rock for assistance to pull herself forward against the current flowing against them.

She saw the three ahead of her rise up in the passage and did the same, breaking into the air pocket. It really was just a pocket, with barely enough space to fit all their heads and shoulders, smaller openings in the rock above probably led to the open but were too small to even see through. After gathering more air in their lungs, Aquinas led them on.

They repeated the same process of traversing the waterway, stopping for air in various pockets. Lightning felt they were moving at a decent pace—faster once the current seemed to change and flow in the direction they were going. While most of the time they spent underwater, occasionally they'd come to a break in the waterway, where they'd be led through a passage not fully submerged. While clearly a relief for the Oerbans, these were few and far between.

How long had they been traveling? Lightning had lost count of the number of air-pockets they'd used or number of corners they'd turned. She had noticed that the water had gotten significantly warmer, the father they'd swam. And while she had no way of knowing exactly where they were in relation to Sulyya's main lake, she knew they had been make their way downward, deeper into Gran Pulse.

When she broke the surface next, she noticed it was a small entrance to a passageway completely out of the water. When she saw Aquinas was helping a tired Vanille up out of the small pool she realized they'd reached their destination. Fang was hanging off the edge, resting. Lightning couldn't say she was that much better a swimmer than Fang and even she felt her lungs had been given a significant workout.

The first thing she observed about her surrounedings as she pulled herself up out of the water was that while the walls glowed similar to how they did nearer the village, it was brighter—not quite blinding but it definitely seemed a lot less... natural.

"How far under Sulyya are we?" Vanille asked, breaking the silence. Aquinas was moving to untie the vine around her waist, motioning that Lightning could do the same.

"Far enough to where no other Sulyyan knows about this place."

"And how do you know about it?" Fang spoke up, pulling herself into the rocks. Aquinas had already moved to enter the passageway away from the pool they'd emerged from. Vanille quickly scrambled to her feet to follow. Lightning began to do the same but stopped and decided to wait for Fang, who—while slightly miffed she didn't get an answer—stood anyway and made her way after the smaller two.

"I'm the only one that's been here." Aquinas said from her position ahead of the group. The passageway was not long, it spiraled downward about a dozen feet before it opened up into a larger cavern, "I didn't find it, so much as... was taken here by accident."

Lightning faltered slightly in her step. She'd guessed this must have had something to do with the readings she'd gotten in her scan of Sulyya. The increasingly overwhelming, almost crushing feeling of power in the air assured her slightly of this and now, with Aquinas' explanation she had little to no doubt left of where they were. As she stepped out of the passageway into the open alongside Vanille and Fang, her jaw dropped and eyes widened.

The village of Sulyya had entranced her but the sight before her now completely blew her away. The cavern was lit not only by the bright pool in the middle of it, but by vegetation around it as well. Flowers and grass glowed with an eerie, ethereal beauty. Wisps fluttered in, around and above them, leaving trails of light that slowly faded over time.

Taking a cautious step forward, she noticed a cluster of flowers similar to the one that had been given to her earlier. Bending down to touch them, they felt exactly the same; silky to the touch. Running her hand through the entire cluster almost felt like running her hand through water.

Her eyes reached the edge of the pool. The glow from beneath the surface so bright it obscured anything beneath it. However, out of the middle rose a formation of what looked like crystal, bending and reflecting the light to paint the walls and ceiling of the cavern in fractured, luminescent shapes. The formation reached to almost her own height, translucent stone protruding up and outward as if frozen in mid-explosion around a particular, peculiar-shaped object. It was clearly embedded in the crystal but for some reason seemed oddly out of place.

Pretty flowers and wisps were instantly forgotten once Lightning's eyes took in the crystal before her. Her mind briefly flashed back to the Paddrassean artifact—no, this was entirely different. She had no doubt this was what she'd picked up with the scanners on Cocoon but even that mattered little. The crystal seemed to... resonate. It called to her, beckoned her closer, pulling at her very soul with some unseen force.

"What-?" She began in a whisper.

"What is this place?" Fang cut her off—though she could barely hear anymore, all of Lightning's focus was on the crystal in front of her.

"This-" Aquinas' voice barely registered in the pinkette's mind, "-is the heart of Sulyya."

* * *

**.: A/N**

_[insert FF victory chime here]_

Image of the heart of Sulyya is present in my dA gallery =3

Still contemplating on whether or not to bring Light's eyepatch back. It seemed rather popular in FFalterXIII...


	24. Recall

**.:.:: Chapter 23  
.:.:: Recall**

* * *

_Light..._

_Her body floated motionless through the air._

_Light..._

_She couldn't move her body at all. All she could do was wait for her vision to adjust and take in what was right in front of her._

_...Above her? ...Or was it below? There was no way to know, there was no right-side up nor upside-down where she was._

_Lightning..._

_Glowing mechanical rings slowly rotated around her as she pass through them in silence, forming an endless, broken tunnel. The haze between each ring obscuring anything that lay beyond them._

_Lightning... ake... p..._

_How long has she been here? Where was here? Why was she here? And where was she going?_

_Lightning, wake up..._

_Who was calling her?_

_**:::**_

"LIGHTNING! WAKE UP!"

The pinkette gasped, shooting up into a sitting position, just about knocking over the person kneeling over her. Her eye still adjusting to the bright light, she felt a pair of hands steadying her while another blurred figure crossed her vision.

"Easy now, breathe, Light," A voice—Fang's voice—from her side, "Just breathe, Light." Her gasps faded into even breaths as her vision returned. Vanille was kneeling nearer her legs while Aquinas was sitting on some rocks behind her.

"Wh-What... just..." She cleared her throat as she stumbled over the words, "What just happened?"

"Vanille." Aquinas spoke, handing the smaller Oerban a large flower before motioning to Lightning with her chin. Vanille took the flower and with a quick glance into it, she brought it to Lightning's lips.

"Light, drink this." The pinkette hesitated briefly before allowing herself to gulp down the liquid. It was warm and soothed her throat. She felt the warmth spread through her body, sending a calming effect across her nerves.

"Aquinas, what the hell was that?" Fang spoke up, addressing the Sulyyan.

"Don't look at me, I've never seen it do that before." Aquinas responded defensively, "And I warned her not to touch it." The pinkette nearly missed the Sulyyan's eyes narrowed on her.

Lightning rubbed the back of her head where she assumed she'd banged it when she'd fallen. Fallen? The entire of her back seemed sore. It felt like she'd been thrown. As she reached around to rub her back, she halted suddenly, anticipating a sharp pain in her shoulder where her wound was. But there was no pain. Confused, she examined the bandages, gently pressing down on them.

"Light-?"

There was still no pain. She picked at the cloth, pulling it aside to reveal the wound in her shoulder had completely closed. Not only that, there was no scar at all, no evidence she'd ever sustained an injury.

"How in the..." Vanille also pulled away a few of the bandages to take a closer look herself.

Lightning pulled off all the bandaging around her shoulder and began on the ones around her head. As they fell into her lap, leaving her eye completely uncovered, she gently opened it. After a few moments of adjusting to the light, she blinked into perfect vision. Tracing a finger around her temple, like her shoulder, she felt no evidence of any cut that was there before.

She looked over at Aquinas, along with Vanille and Fang—who'd already lost all evidence of her own external injuries.

"Don't look at me." The Sulyyan shook her head before waving a hand in the air, "This is where Sulyya is most powerful. Of course the healing properties are going to be a great deal more effective."

Lightning stood up, realizing the ache in her back was already disappearing. Her eyes returned to the crystal in the middle of the pool. There was a clear line of where she'd skid along the rock, the foliage on the ground broken and parted in a clear trail from the edge of the pool to her feet. She focused her memory on what she could before she'd woken up.

_**:::**_

"_The heart of Sulyya..." Vanille repeated Aquinas' words. The four of them slowly circled the pool and crystal formation, watching it gently pulsate in a slow, steady manner._

"_Yes." Aquinas confirmed, "This where Sulyya gets their power."_

_Lightning had gotten to an edge of the pool where it jut out nearest to the crystal. She merely had to lean out in order to touch the bottom of the formation. But the entirety of the formation wasn't what she was interested in—wasn't what was drawing her towards it. The strange object half-buried in the upper part of the crystal was what was resonating with her soul. It let out a hum that seemed to physically echo through her body. She couldn't resist answering it. She had to know what it was. She hadn't realized her hand was outstretched until there was a shout from Aquinas._

"_No, don't touch it-!"_

_***CRACK***_

_There was a loud snap as her fingers came into contact with the closest part of the lower section of crystal. Lightning felt what she could only describe as a direct bolt of lightning shoot into her hand and through her body. It held her body in place, wracking it with unspeakable pain before sending her flying backwards into the ground and out of consciousness._

_**:::**_

Examining the crystal from where she'd stood before she'd been thrown, she now saw a large crack flourishing from beneath the water's surface, tracing it's way all the way to the tip of the object buried near the top. Squinting through the glow she could have sworn she saw something within the crystal... like the object wasn't so much made of crystal as it was encased with it. Despite the painful rejection of the crystal, it still felt as though the object was calling to her.

"Light..." Fang warned as the pinkette leaned closer over the edge of the pool.

"That's enough." Lightning found a grip around her wrist, no doubt Aquinas', "I didn't bring you here so you could play with it."

"Then what _did_ you bring us here for?" The pinkette turned to the Sulyyan who looked taken aback at the question. She recovered however and her expression from before their journey had began, returned, more intense than before.

"I don't know, but I did it trusting that you wouldn't do anything unnecessary." The Sulyyan stepped towards the pinkette, not caring about the height difference, "You told me you wish neither me nor my tribe any harm and I trusted you." The Sulyyan's voice was getting less cold, and more fiery.

"I meant it."

"Then leave the heart be." Aquinas stated, almost angrily now. It was then Lightning noticed Aquinas' confrontational attitude wasn't entirely normal. Her breathing was becoming heavier, uneven, and her eyes were losing their focus.

"Aquinas, I don't think Light meant-"

"I should have known you'd try something like this." Aquinas ignored the Oerban, "What, the damage you did ten years ago wasn't enough-?!"

"Aquinas! That's enough!" Fang spoke up, her voice hard as she made her way around toward them.

"No, it's not, Fang! You were there!" The Sulyyan was almost frantic now, indicating to the others that something was definitely not right, "You were _both_ there!" Aquinas motioned between the Oerbans, "I'm not letting it happen again, they destroyed my people already!" The shout left the cavern in silence.

There was a brief flashback in Lightning's mind to the fist time she'd come in contact with the Paddrasean artifact. She'd heard the same line then.

"I..." Aquinas' shoulders slumped as she backed away before falling back on a moss-covered stone, "I'm sorry." The Sulyyan slumped over, head in her hands, "Though it's necessary that I do, I hate coming here. It... messes with my head. Brings back bad memories."

"This is where you ended up, isn't it?" Lightning spoke up as Vanille rushed over to the smaller girl, "This is what saved you; what keeps you alive." She didn't miss the shocked look Fang and Vanille turned to give her, nor the fearful look they gave one another.

"How do you know about that?" Vanille questioned. When the pinkette's eyes returned to Aquinas instead of giving an answer, the Oerban turned to Aquinas as well, "You told her." It wasn't a question, she was just stating a fact. Silence befell the ground, not even the sound of running water could be heard.

"This is what was scanned on Cocoon." Lightning stated, turning to the heart, "It's power level is beyond massive."

"So wait, you think the heart is one of the artifacts?" Fang suggested, "One of the keys?" Lightning didn't respond for a good while.

"No, the heart has the power of an artifact but it's not a key." She shook her head, "At least not in its entirety." Raising a hand to motion to the object protruding out of the top of the crystal, "If there was a key here, it would be that."

"How can you know that?" The Oerban's question went unanswered, "Let me guess, you just know-"

"Artifact or not-" Vanille spoke suddenly, concern for Aquinas' visible distress apparent on her face, "We should leave this place for now."

"The water." Aquinas mumbled, head still buried in her hands. The others looked between one another in silence, "The heart... doesn't react to the water." Lightning looked toward the pool where the heart sat. It became obvious the statement had been meant for her. Stepping toward the pool, she felt someone move to stand next to her. Fang.

"Light, what are you doing?" The words weren't hard, or cold, or meant with suspicion or as a threat. They were asked more out of concern. The fact comforted the pinkette more than she would have thought. She looked over at Fang before turning to glance over her shoulder at Aquinas, who was now watching both of them. She gave a small nod.

"There's something I have to do." She returned her attention to the tip of the heart, "Something I have to know."

With that she pulled away, stepping back toward the crystal formation. Unlike the first time, she knelt down to the water, dipping her hand into the pool. The water, unlike the rest of the cavern was cool—cold even. She submerged her hand until her wrist before pulling it out. The glow of the pool seemed to remain for a few seconds even after it was free. Droplets of water slowly rolling down and off her fingers like small pearls of light.

Her eyes drifting upward to the heart in front of her, she swallowed thickly before reaching her wet hand out to it. Her trembling fingers paused for a split second, about half an inch from the rock before they touched the surface. She couldn't stop the reflexive wince in preparation for another nasty shock but none came. Instead what hit her was the pulsating light, enveloping her arm through the remaining liquid still coating it. It ceased when she pulled her hand away.

With another glance at the crystal, the pinkette slipped off the armsleeves, leaned over and dipped both her arms into the pool, coating them with the water. Immediately standing up and moving to face the crack in the crystal she judged she'd only have to use an arm to hold herself over the gap between the heart and the edge of the pool, then use her other arm to reach the protruding object at top. She'd barely be able to reach the base of it where it connected to the crystal underneath. To grab what resembled a handle higher up, she'd have to actually climb the crystal.

And Even though Aquinas had given her a way to touch Sulyya's heart without being shocked, it didn't mean she could go about pulling bits and pieces off it. She'd already managed to crack it, her curiosity aside, she was adamant to keep her word about not harming Aquinas' people. She just wanted—needed—a closer look.

Placing a hand on the crystal in front of her, her arm slowly began to glow in time with the heart. Leaning forward, transferring her weight onto her arm, she took care to make sure only her hand came into contact with the crystal. Despite the new opening formed in the heart, Lightning only saw more crystal within, the only difference being the brightness. The deeper into the heart one looked, the harder it was to keep your eyes focused. Using her hands to find a suitable hold to use to reach upward she found it and stretched her left hand out, fingers stopping short a hair's breadth away from their goal. She inched her feet forward, now half off the edge of the pool. Straining her muscles she reached once again.

Fang, observing this along with the other two, suddenly found it hard to breathe. Too many things had happened in the last few minutes and it was still taking half of her focus to process it. Aquinas had revealed the source of Sulyya's power which also happened to be the source of _her_ power. This fact in itself wasn't all that surprising. Even Fang could have guessed that. What_ had_ been surprising, however, was the fact that Lightning seemed to know about it—know _more _about it than both she or Vanille did.

How was she supposed to feel about that? This was Aquinas, someone who'd known her and her Oerban companion since before either of them had taken the names of their current clans. Aquinas, who Lightning had only ever spoken to for barely five minutes at a time. And all of a sudden there's this... connection between them that not even she or Vanille had? Lightning, who was an ex-Palamecian; a former member of the force that had burned Sulyya to the ground and irreversibly altered its people. Fang didn't understand it nor particularly like it.

While she was still trying to wrap her head around this, another part of her mind was trying to comprehend Lightning's suddenly apparent connection to the heart of Sulyya itself. The pinkette's sudden interest in it that went beyond mere curiosity was undeniable after she'd touched it the first time. The only other time she'd seen Lightning with such a haunted expression was on Cocoon; when they'd seen the girl—Serah. Taking into account what happened after that, she couldn't begin to guess what'd happen now; particularly if whatever was sticking out of the heart was in fact a key from the prophecy.

At this point Lightning's fingers were inching once more toward the object. Fang felt herself hold her breath as they gently brushed against it's base. But there was no shock, no loud crack, and the pinkette was not sent flying. She merely paused for a moment to stare at it. There was a few seconds she was without movement before she pulled away blinking, returning to stand away from the heart at the edge of the pool. Fang would have been lying if she'd said she hadn't expected something bizarre to happen. Yet the pinkette merely wiped her arms dry like nothing had happened.

"So?" Fang broke the silence with an expectant answer. The pinkette glanced over at her, the brightness of the heart obscuring a clear view into her eyes.

"Vanille's right." She turned away from the crystal, moving toward the smaller two, "We should leave for now."

Fang frowned. That was it? Well was it an artifact? If not, what was it? Questions continued to swirl in her mind but she could spit none of them out. There was something unexplainable holding them back. She merely watched in silence as Vanille helped Aquinas guide them out of the cavern. With a last look at the crystal pulsating in the middle of it, the Oerban turned and followed the others back to Sulyya.

_**:::**_  
**A few hours later**

Fang didn't know how long she'd been awake since they'd returned from their short—but by no means uneventful—journey led by her Sulyyan friend. She couldn't sleep but she was tired enough to not quite be able to continue her analysis of what had happened.

It certainly didn't help that a few minutes ago she'd heard the pinkette leave the room. Lightning had barely spoken since they'd returned to the village. In fact, Fang had more than just a feeling the other woman was avoiding her—not that any of them had had any real conversation since then. It was late and it was agreed that any discussion could be held off until morning at least. But her brain felt rattled and refused to settle down.

Eventually she gave into her restlessness and decided to take a walk herself. Though she was familliar with Sulyya, ever since they'd returned to the village it seemed different—felt different. Of course it may have just been the overflow of events swirling around in her mind. Finding herself on an edge overlooking the lake she spotted a certain pink-haired figure moving toward the pathway out of the village. Unable to take in any more information to process, she skipped the thinking part and immediately moved to follow.

It wasn't long before Fang was outside. The air grew cooler as she continued walking out into the open area of the more visible part of the springs. Though her visits to Sulyya were still relatively few and far between, each and every time, moving between the village and the outside area felt like traveling between two completely different worlds. The fact that it was dark only accentuated the lifelessness of the outside. The water in the pools was so still, they looked like giant mirrors reflecting the sky. Despite the desolate atmosphere it was still an impressive sight. Speaking of which, her current view had no sign of Lightning-

"Couldn't sleep?" The sudden break in silence made her jump about a foot in the air. She spun around on reflex, barely catching herself from swinging with a fist. She turned to see Lightning standing a few feet away.

"Jeez, you get off sneaking up on people in the middle of the night?"

"You tell me," Lightning replied, "you're the one following me."

"What?" Fang shrugged, looking away, "I... needed some air." The pinkette merely raised an eyebrow, "And y'know the world doesn't come close to revolving around you alright?" This time she got an almost-scoff—and almost-all-knowing-scoff—though not quite directed at her.

"Of course not." The pinkette moved to walk past her. Fang didn't move but turned to watch as Lightning slowly made her way the dozen or so feet to where Vanille's wood wraiths slept.

"Uh, I wouldn't-" Fang began but stopped when Lightning deftly jumped, scaling Enlil until she stood atop his shoulder, "-do that..." The guardian beast continued to sleep, unmoving apart from it's slow, deep breathing. She saw the pinkette pick something off his back. A glint in the dim moonlight revealed the bowblade in her hands. Immediately a hand went to her back. She almost kicked herself when she finally realized the fact that she'd been without her weapon since Cocoon. She could practically hear the Elders lecturing her on how frequently she found herself separated from her lance.

"Seems Aquinas remembered to grab this." Lightning's voice again. Fang barely looked up before she had to half-catch, half-block a lance flying at her head. Fang flipped the weapon around in her hands, almost surprised at the strange sense of comfort that bloomed through her body as she did so, "Careful not to make a habit of losing it." The comment made fang stop and turn back to the pinkette, now atop Enki. If it weren't so dark she could have sworn she saw a smirk on Lightning's face.

"Please, I wouldn't need a weapon to break that little toy of yours in a second." The words seemed to amuse Lightning a lot more than necessary. Fang felt a frown flicker across her lips as the pinkette lifted the sword.

"You're making this about size, _really_?" While the words felt slightly forced, as if she were quoting someone else, they stung, Fang felt a strange sense of dejavu.

"Technically it's about reach." Fang spun the lance around, "In which between you and me, currently-" Fang motioned between them, "-I have the edge."

"Is that so." Lightning nodded, making her way down from atop the wood wraith.

"Shall I provide an example?" Fang dropped into a loose combat stance, eyebrow raised. Surprisingly, Lightning nodded again, dropping into a combat stance of her own. Fang was almost surprised. It almost felt as thought the other woman was teasing her. Sure it irked her a little but more than that, it peaked her curiosity about Lightning's behavior since their trip to the heart. Regardless, she'd started something and she wasn't about to back out now.

She lunged first, deciding to skip the usual dancing-around-each-other. She continued to attack, refusing to allow Lightning any chances to counter. By now Fang was well aware of how fast Lightning could be. She attacked at maximum distance from the pinkette, giving herself an extra advantage over the other woman's speed. Even when Lightning did manage a counter, Fang always kept enough distance between them to pull off an evade or parry of her own.

Eventually Fang started throwing heavier blows. She'd noticed whenever she started attacking with more powerful swings, Lightning would evade a lot more and when she did parry, the shaking of her hands due to the force—while barely visible—was apparent. However, currently Lightning didn't seem fazed at all by the increase in power. If anything her counters to the blows were becoming even more effective. Blow after blow it seemed the more power Fang put into her attacks, the less effective they became. Their exchange went on for a while before Fang spotted an opening—a small one but it was enough. She swung out widely only to hit air. She stopped, confused.

"You're absolutely right." Lightning's voice directed Fang to look to her left, "Lance will always out-reach the sword." Fang's eyes were immediately drawn to her hands, now holding a bow, "Unless of course-"

"Oh crap-"

"-it isn't an ordinary sword." Fang gripped the lance tight as she poured all her focus on parrying the blast fired toward her. As she did, it became clear even if she'd failed it would have barely caught her shoulder. Still, she threw the pinkette a hard look.

"Nah, that's called cheating."

"My apologies." Lightning refolded the bow into sword form, "I thought this was about reach."

"How does that saying go? Nobody likes a smartass."

"Especially another smartass."

Fang turned to completely face Lightning but kept the distance between them. The pinkette stood side-stance, sword held behind her, tip to the ground. When she realized Fang was on the defensive, she dropped her guard slightly and appeared to study the weapon. The Oerban was slightly confused. She'd known Lightning could more than hold her own in a fight and in terms of battle prowess they were on more or less equal footing. But as their current sparring session had gone on, she'd noticed a small yet stark difference in the way she fought.

It were as though all of a sudden Lightning realized all the weaknesses in her form and had corrected them. Not only that it felt like the pinkette had pinpointed all of her own and was fully able to exploit them with deadly effect. They had sparred in the past back in Oerba but nothing like this. Calming her breaths, Fang thought back to the events earlier in the night. Had something happened with the heart? Perhaps it gave Lightning power? The pinkette didn't radiate any of the undeniable power she'd felt in that cavern so that couldn't have been it.

The Oerban let out a dissatisfied scoff. Whatever it was, she didn't like it. There was no way she'd allow some Cocoon native to beat her—even if it wasn't a real fight. If Lightning had suddenly decided to break out her real combat abilities, then Fang would just have to respond in kind. Flipping her lance around, once again she jumped toward the pinkette. And just like before, Lightning didn't hesitate to parry her attacks. It didn't matter though, landing a blow wasn't the main focus. Fang continued her strikes, taking care to put just enough pressure on the pinkette to keep her on the defensive.

_'Alright, let's see if sunshine can dodge this.'_ Spotting an opening, the Oerban suddenly whirled around, putting unnecessary force into a blow that sent Lightning skidding and stumbling back. In that moment, she launched herself up off the ground with as much power as she could muster. The move was silent and as she reached the peak of her jump she saw the pinkette under her attempting to recover, '_You're mine!' _Fang brought herself down on her target, aiming just shy of her but close enough to where the fight's victor would have been decided.

As her lance sunk into the ground, her eyes widened. There was a flash of blue and a flutter of red as she saw pink locks swiftly float across her vision. Lightning had dodged. She had dodged into a perfect position to plant a quick, firm kick to Fang's gut as she landed, sending her backwards to land on her back in the grass.

Fang lay there dazed and not because of the kick, nor her less than dignified landing. It wasn't as though she broke that move out frequently, she'd only managed to perfect it a few years ago. The combination of her power and gravity in a silent but deadly power attack from above. If one could say they had a last-resort, finishing-move, that would be hers. But to have evaded so easily in a way that could only have been done if one knew it was coming...

"Hey," A voice focused the present surroundings again. The view of the sky above was now partially obscured by Lightning's face. Fang began to open her mouth to speak but halted when she saw the soft look in the other woman's eyes that was unlike any she'd ever seen her express. Was it familiar? Maybe. But it was gone before she could really take it in. And as it disappeared, so did her initial shock. She jumped up, grabbing the pinkette by the wrist.

"How did you do that?" She demanded. She found her grip immediately loosened as Lightning whirled around to reverse the hold. Both their weapons were on the ground now so it was a purely hand-to-hand affair. Fang broke out of the hold using pure power and managed to lock Lightning's arm behind her back, and forcing her to one knee, "Next to no one has seen that move before and less than that managed to anticipate it like you just did."

"Maybe it's not as extraordinary a move as you thought." The pinkette threw her body forward, catching the Oerban off guard, yanking her along. Twisting and rolling to face Fang, Lightning swept her leg out from under her. Before she could maneuver herself to counter, Fang felt herself pinned against the ground. The pinkette was straddling her waist, firmly gripping her wrists against the ground on either side of her head, her own less than a few inches above. So close.

"Li-"

There was a brief flash of dark blue eyes before pink filled her vision. It blurred immediately when the feeling of lips against her own settled in. Forceful and fierce, similar to the time in the light caves near Paddra, Lightning's lips crashed against hers. Teeth scraped against her lower lip sending shocks through her jaw. She hadn't been kissing back, the complete bafflement in her brain was getting in the way. She couldn't do anything but feel, and all she could feel was Lightning's kiss.

The second she found herself able to move—more accurately able to kiss back—the intense warmth that had built up, pulled away. Lightning sat up, eyes just as dark as when she'd leaned in. Fang became aware her arms were free but they felt like lead, too heavy to move. The pinkette jumped off her, immediately backing away.

"I... should go." Was the only sound that broke the silence between them before the echoes of the pinkette's steps retreating back toward the caverns filled Fang's ears.

Fang lay on her back until the warmth had completely faded from her body, as if it had been what was pinning her there. Pulling herself to a sitting position she raised a hand to her lips but stopped short of touching them, as though doing so would make her forget the feeling burned into them. She'd felt it before, it was almost what it'd felt like in the light caves but not quite. This was far more intense and while she'd been afflicted with poison, Lightning had seemed perfectly fine, alert, her eyes and mind clear.

Had it been payback? Fang hadn't thought Lightning would be the type to do something like that. Just hours ago, the woman had been completely set on figuring out exactly why Fang had done the same thing the night before. And now, after repeating the action, she runs off without any explanation?

Fang's hands formed fists as she let out a frustrated groan. She'd always lived life how she fought. Straight and to the point. If something bothered her, she'd deal with it; if she wanted something, she'd take it; no point dancing around in circles, wasting time. But recently she'd been spinning so hard in a mess of confusion she couldn't tell which way was up anymore. She had no idea what exactly was bothering her. More importantly, she had no idea what she wanted to do about it.

_**:::**_  
**Next morning**

Fang didn't awaken until late the almost noon the next day. To many things had kept her tossing and turning. While they shared the room, Lightning had slept with her back to her, an obvious statement that there would be no more talk that night. By the time Fang had finally fallen asleep, she could hear the sounds of creatures indicating sunrise.

Waking up to find the room empty, she immediately set off in search for the pinkette. When passing by the room Vanille had been staying in, she met a Sulyyan who'd directed her outside to where her fellow Oerban was apparently holding a meeting. Intrigued at the thought—since the Sulyyan Elders never cared to venture outside—Fang made her way out of the springs to find Vanille standing with Lightning and two others that turned her intrigue quickly to anxiety. Sitting across from then on an old, fallen, lifeless tree, was Yeul and Caius. What the hell were _they _doing there?

As she neared the group, the newest visitors to Sulyya noticed her, drawing Vanille's attention her way. The smaller Oerban gave a quick smile before waving her over. Fang continued but didn't hasten her step. She could only anticipate bad things with the arrival of the Paddraseans—specifically the most important figures of the particular tribe.

"Fang, how nice of you to join us." Vanille greeted her verbally as she came to a stop at the smaller woman's side, "You look worse than Lightning." The comment took her off guard, her shoulders tensing immediately at the mention of the name. Fang dared a glance over at the pinkette. It seemed she was still refusing to look at her, "You two weren't up all night fighting were you?"

"Nah," Fang responded, forcing herself together, "Light just snores." She attempted a verbal jab to wake both herself and the pinkette up. No reaction. She felt annoyed at the disappointment. Turning to the Paddraseans she gave a formal bow out of respect, "Priestess, Caius."

"Fang." Caius' response was equally cold.

"Good morning, Fang." Yeul responded, her voice not quite so cold, so much as lacking in any recognizable emotion at all. Fang would never get used to it, no matter how close she was to Vanille.

"So, what business does the Paddrasean priestess and her personal guard have with Sulyya?" Fang questioned, stretching her limbs.

"Our 'business' is with you three." Caius snapped quickly.

"And what could be _so_ important you'd make the trip all the way to Sulyya personally-"

"Watch your-"

"Vanille departed from Paddra with very little warning," Yeul cut Caius off calmly, "Along with Aquinas, an injured Lightning... though without you." There was no suspicion in her voice, no threat in her tone but it didn't fail to cause unease in all three women she was addressing, "All this as negotiations with Cocoon fall apart-"

"With all due respect, Priestess, if you're blaming that sham of a plan to talk with Cocoon-"

"You will watch your tongue-" Caius warned.

"No, you have no business of accusing Lightning and I—any of us of anything-!"

"Fang, enough!"

"Caius." Fang watched the Priestess' guard immediately shut his mouth, while she found Vanille's arm resting on her own. The gesture didn't calm her in the least but she tightened her jaw and stepped back, "We did not come here to discuss the negotiations between Gran Pulse and Cocoon." The priestess continued with barely a pause, "Though the information we have may or may not be linked."

"What information?" Fang asked with a glance at Vanille. Her expression showed they'd yet to discuss it in detail for the smaller Oerban seemed as much in the dark about it as she.

"I believe Aquinas may have come across similar information." Fang wondered about the answer for a moment.

"The Taejins?" There was no verbal response from the Yeul but something told Fang she wasn't off the mark, "And how they're working with people from Sanctum."

"The Sanctum?" Caius seemed almost surprised, "You seem sure of this."

"If evidence points to them-" Lightning started to mutter but was cut off by Caius.

"Evidence?" The Paddrasean raised an eyebrow.

"Weren't the two of you in the middle of sharing the information you have?" Vanille spoke up before the obvious tension could escalate. While Caius continued to eye Lightning and Fang, he didn't continue.

"The priestess believes the Taejins will be getting a visit from their viper... benefactors in the next few days." Caius explained, "If it's anything like their last exchange, with the intentions anything like what happened in Paddra then their dealing must not take place."

"So you have reason to believe the Taejins are receiving more weapons from Cocoon?" Vanille spoke up.

"I cannot be sure if it is weapons specifically." Yeul answered directly, "But having experienced first hand the results of their last exchange, I believe certain measures must be taken."

"So basically you want to confront the Taejins about their dealings with the Sa- Cocoon." Fang stated, "So why are you telling us this? Even the Taejins tend to listen when the Paddraseans come knocking at their door."

"This is has become a delicate situation." Yeul looked between the three of them as though hinting as something more than just the situation between the Taejins and Cocoon, "I fear directly confronting the Taejins would only escalate it further."

"Before anything we need solid proof of the Taejins' dealing with Cocoon—whether it is the Sanctum as you say, or otherwise." Caius interjected, "And for that we need someone that is familiar with Cocoon and its technology." Both his and Yeul's eyes shifted to Lightning who had remained silent the entire time. Fang looked between the Paddraseans and the pinkette. She didn't look surprised.

"With all due respect, Priestess, how exactly are we going to observe this exchange?" Lightning addressed Yeul after a long moment of silence, "It's not as though the Taejins will just let us hang around the tower while they wait for their Cocoon contacts."

"They won't be meeting at the tower." Yeul answered almost immediately, "They will be meeting in the Barrens."

Fang and Vanille caught each other's eye at the mention of the location but the pinkette didn't appear to recognize the name.

"The Barrens area just off the Archlyte Steppe." Vanille explained quietly, speaking about it as though it were cursed—which most Gran Pulsians believed to be true, "It's more or less a giant crater. Jagged mountains surrounding a land that's nothing but rock and ash." Fang noticed the realization on the pinkette's face.

"I know what you're talking about. It was once called the Faultwarrens—now on Cocoon it's known as the Deadzone." She spoke with a haunted look that went deeper than recognizing some scarred part of the world, "Why there?"

"Yes, why the Barrens?" Vanille took over, "No Gran Pulsian would ever venture there—not even the Taejins."

"Forget Gran Pulsians, no living thing will go near there—not even guardian beasts-" Fang added.

"Precisely why they chose that area." Caius answered.

"Will you help us?" Yeul asked. The question directed at Lightning seemed suddenly out of the blue despite being the entire reason she and her personal guard were here. All eyes turned to the pinkette who stood deep in thought. Fang noticed the haunted look on her face had become pained almost. Her brow was furrowed like she was struggling with some internal conflict.

"Light..." Fang spoke before she could stop herself. For the first time that morning Lightning looked at her. Cerulean eyes were crystal clear yet held emotion she couldn't read, "Maybe this isn't such a good ide-"

"Alright." The pinkette gave her reply before she could finish, her eyes now looking into Yeul's as if there was some mutual understanding that Fang couldn't begin to understand.

"Well it's all fine and dandy that the two of you can agree on such a thing." Fang began after clearing her throat, "But aren't you forgetting that you're talking about going to the Barrens? And, as Vanille mentioned before, how no Gran Pulsian—in their right mind—would willingly venture there?" She looked to Vanille to support but only found her Oerban companion deep in thought, "Vanille, you can't seriously be thinking about going through with this..." She turned to Caius. He frowned.

"Caius has already voiced his disagreement with this plan." Yeul spoke directly to Fang, eyes demanding her full attention as she did so, "I assure you if an alternative were possible, it would be taken." Fang found her argument stuck fast at the back of her throat, "As ill of a reputation the Barrens has, it couldn't be any more dangerous for a Gran Pulsian than a visit to Cocoon itself, no?" All three facing Yeul seemed to swallow lumps in their throats, collectively. The thought that the priestess had known exactly what Fang and Lightning had been up to the day before Vanille departed Paddra, crossed all of their minds.

"When is this meeting?" Lightning asked, breaking the silence.

"I believe it will take place sometime tomorrow."

"Sometime tomorrow?" Fang repeated, "Well that's... specific."

"If we're going to get there without the help of guardian beasts, we'll need to leave this afternoon." Lightning stated, already turning to head back into the Sulyyan caverns. She clenched her jaw as she tried to ease the pain in her head.

"Hey!" Fang's voice did little to help. She found herself stopped and turned by a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, hold up a second-"

"Not right now Fang."

"Yes right now, Light." Fang stopped another attempt at pulling away.

"I can't deal with this right now, Fang."

"You can deal with running off with the Paddrasean priestess and her personal guard to a place that both Gran Pulse and Cocoon associates with nothing good but you can't take ten minutes to talk to me."

"No, Fang, not really-"

"Well too bad." Fang cut her off with a hiss and a glance toward the others who still seemed to be discussing matters, "Something happened down in the heart, what?"

"You mean the part where it sent what felt like a million volts through me?"

"Yes-no... Just..." Fang stumbled over the words, "Ever since we got back you've been acting..."

"Like I got a million volts shot through me?"

"Different." Fang clearly wasn't appreciating the snark. Lightning sighed, avoiding the Oerban's eyes, "Before Aquinas brought it up you were hellbent on learning about it and then we get there, and you're somehow sure it's got one of the prophecy's keys in it but then suddenly you act like you want nothing to do with it?" Lightning remained silent, "And don't even get me started on the kiss last night." Suddenly blue eyes were locked onto green. Fang swallowed hard at the softness of the gaze. It was just like it was just before Lightning had kissed her. She shook it off, refused to be thrown off track, "What was that? Payback? I didn't think you'd stoop _that_ low." Still, Lightning didn't say anything, "I had enough information I'm still trying to sort out in here-" The Oerban tapped the side of her head, "-I could do without you screwing around-"

"Last night was a mistake." Lightning's tone was suddenly cold as ice, cutting Fang off brutally, "And it'll be easier for you if you just forget it ever happened."

"Are you seriously expecting me to-"

"And you're not the only one whose mind is completely drowning in enough information to drive any person insane." Lightning's eyes now showed conflict. Like behind them there was a battle between chaos and calm, "And you're not the only one who gets to want time to sort through it." The pinkette yanked her arm out of Fang's grip, turned and walked away before the Oerban could stop her.

Lightning's jaw ached from clenching it so hard and the pounding in her head only increased with the distance she put between herself and the other woman. She continued until she reached a smaller passageway that branched off from the main route into the village. Her pace slowed as her vision blurred momentarily. She recalled the night before—specifically what she had seen the moment she touched the artifact in the heart.

_**:::**_

_"You became a l'Cie, so now you're gonna marry this idiot? And you think I'm gonna buy that? Full points for originality. But, don't forget. If you really are a l'Cie, it's my job to deal with you." _

_"This l'Cie curse, it took everything from me. My future. My dreams. I didn't want to think. So I fought instead. As long as I was fighting, nothing else was real. I was running away." _

_"I've got a few screws loose, but I'm a l'Cie, same as you. Difference being... I wasn't born on Cocoon. I'm from Gran Pulse. The 'world below' you all hate so much. My partner and I'd turned to crystal there and gone to sleep. But when we came around, here we were. The reason Cocoon's in an uproar is the same reason you're here now. Vanille and I woke up." _

_"Don't even think of trying to help us, or bring us back, or whatever stupid plan you might come up with. Don't you dare. You worry about yourselves, you hear me?" _

_"The CRYSIS Corps. protects and to protect you need to survive. To survive is to not give up. No matter how far you fall, no matter how hard it gets. Training with me will only get harder. You'll need more than physical strength and speed. If you aren't prepared for this, I suggest you seek training elsewhere. There are plenty of others that can teach you how to be strong and fast; I can teach you how to survive." _

_"Easy? You want____ 'easy'__? Alright. Go ahead, tell me, whatever it is you want to say or need to talk about it. I'm listening Fang. What is it?" _

_"Look we're all fine, we're all here, okay? We reached the edge of the storm and got... sucked into a cloud wall. We all had a... memory—a flashback—only we weren't just seeing it. We were reliving it."  
____  
"It means as we get closer to the Faultwarrens... the more intense the Pulse-shifts. Like how we're able to use magic again. What happens to us in the memories, effects us in the present as well. It means that time lines are beginning to overlap-"  
__  
"How unfortunate you are, humans. Your unfaltering hope twists into misconception that blinds you from seeing the truth. Truths that—would they have been seen and accepted beforehand—would spare you from such pain and anguish." _

___"I won't let the world end. But I refuse to sacrifice anyone else. Especially if it means letting our lives become slave to another fal'Cie."  
_

___"But I am little more than a memory; an echo of what the fal'Cie were—not just as an entity, but as an idea, a concept. I am the only thing keeping existence of the fal'Cie alive." _

___"Wait a minute—you want to... re-write me into history? Into Fang and Vanille's time? Is that even... possible?" _

___"Yes. For you and only you."____**  
**_

___**:::**_

"ARAAGH!" The pain that had been in Lightning's head since the night before gathered in her right temple, then suddenly spread to her eye. She immediately raised a hand to cup it, her feet losing her footing as she fell to her knees, "Nnnngh..." She shut her left eye as a reflexive attempt to help the pain in her right, "I remember..."

Lightning's ragged breaths filled the cavern she was in, the sharp pain in her right eye lulling back into a dull ache. The hand still covering it was wet with sweat and tears.

"I remember everything."


	25. Deadzone

**.:.:: Chapter 24  
.:.:: Deadzone  
**

* * *

It had been a few hours since the group had left Sulyya. The group, of course, consisting of the two Oerbans and an ex-Palamecian. It sounded like the start of a bad joke—at least to Fang. She was hanging back, bringing up the rear as they made their way across the Archlyte Steppe. It would have been quicker to take the path leading past Taejin's tower but it would also have been more dangerous—in more ways than one. Yeul and Caius had said they had business with the Sulyyan Elders and somehow convinced the three of them to begin the journey before them.

"So did you want to talk about it?" Vanille's voice brought her to the present. She found her Oerban companion walking along side her. Up until now she'd been keeping pace with Lightning, ahead of them.

"About what?" Fang muttered, "How completely insane this idea is? Seems a little late for that."

"You're right." Vanille's reply earned her a look, "But that's not what I'm talking about." Fang followed the lighter green eyes to see Lightning deftly traversing the increasingly rough terrain. The pinkette hadn't said a word since Sulyya and hadn't so much as glanced towards Fang since their confrontation outside the caves.

"And what—pray-tell—would you be talking about then, Vanille?"

"You tell me, you're the one that's been staring at the back of Lightning's head like you stare at prey while you're hunting it."

"Wai-what?" Fang actually stopped to turn at the smaller woman or a moment, "I'm not..." Vanille's quirked eyebrow only threw her off further, "What does it matter to you?" She motioned between herself and the pinkette, "We haven't been fighting-"

"Yeah, exactly." Vanille cut her off with a small laugh, "You haven't been fighting-you haven't so much as said two words to one another since we got back from the heart—no, since you both got back from Cocoon."

"Well in case you've forgotten-"

"What's the hold-up?" A voice cut Fang off again, this time it was Lightning. The Oerbans found the pinkette looking at them over her shoulder.

"Nothing." Vanille answered with a smile, beginning to move again, patting Fang on the arm. The taller of the two followed suit and the group continued on.

"In case you've forgotten," Fang spoke in a hushed voice as they walked, "She's from Cocoon—and a former Palamecian at that. That doesn't exactly give us a whole lotta topics of conversation now does it?"

"Didn't seem to stop you before." At this point, Fang knew she was going to lose the argument, "Look, I get the the both of you have your issues with one another but I'm not stupid." For what felt like the first time in a long time, Fang completely forgot about the pinkette for a moment, "It's beyond obvious something happened on Cocoon that the both of you—supposed "best enemies"—agreed to keep from me."

The taller Oerban felt a twist in her gut but as she examined Vanille more closely. Her eyes were slightly blood-shot, bag barely visible under them.

"I'm not telling you to spill your guts but if it has something to do with whatever is going on between Gran Pulse and Cocoon, I deserve to know—and if I were talking to Light right now, I'd be saying the exact same thing to her-"

"It isn't about Gran Pulse or Cocoon, it's between me and her!" Fang hissed before she could stop herself. She immediately regret it, shooting an apologetic look at Vanille. The smaller woman just let out a heavy sigh.

"So something _did_ happen." Fang didn't need to see the knowing look on her companion's face to know while the conversation had taken a serious turn, she'd been played. She wasn't sure how to respond so she remained silent as they continued walking. The atmosphere wasn't quite awkward but it certainly wasn't comfortable, "So did she make the first move or did you?"

"-Wha-?!" Fang didn't get a chance to finish. Before she could she found herself stumbling over an upturned root, barely escaping a full-on face plant by grabbing a low branch of a tree. Unfortunately her fast reflexes weren't enough to prevent Lightning from noticing.

"Maybe we should take a break-?"

"We're fine." Fang muttered, composing herself.

"Well it's still a few hours until we reach the area I mentioned in the last set of canyons before the Deadzone." Lightning stated, barely acknowledging Fang's response, "We should break for a few." She didn't wait for agreement from the other two before she dropped her pack on a nearby rock and began rolling her shoulders. "I'm going to scout ahead real quick, creatures might stay away from the Deadzone but where we are now is still fair game so don't let your guard down." With that she turned and began making her way up the beaten, barely-there path ahead of them.

"Right... says the one running off by herself." Fang motioned after the pinkette with a sigh. Her eyes caught Vanille, "What?"

"You didn't answer my question." Of course she wouldn't drop the subject. She wouldn't have been Vanille otherwise. Fang swallowed slowly, averting her eyes for a brief moment.

"I have... no idea what you're talking abou-"

"Like I said Fang," Vanille motioned to herself, "Not stupid." Fang was still unsure of how to react. She barely had a grasp on whatever was going on between herself and Lightning and Vanille suddenly comes out of nowhere with a question like this?

"I... don't..."

"Oh please, you've been gaga over each other since we got to Paddra." The smaller Oerban rolled her eyes, "Probably before. I mean, at first I just thought it was the fact you were just butting heads because the both of you are so similar in personality but then Aquinas mentioned what happened between you during-"

"Wait, Aqui- ...Aquinas knows- how could Aquinas know? She wasn't around either time we ki-" Fang stopped herself short. She may as well have bitten her tongue when she saw the look of subtle surprise spread across the other woman's face.

"Wow..." Vanille broke the long silence that followed, "I... figured it was something heading in that direction but..." She trailed off as Fang slapped her forehead with a palm, "Wait, _'either time'_...?" This time Fang groaned, "_**Twice!?**_ And you're still acting like you hate each other!?"

"Vanille." Fang warned.

"I mean, you're certainly working the love-hate relationship pretty hard-"

"Vanille!" Fang's voice was raised this time, silencing the younger Oerban, "Knowing you, you probably aren't going to let this go so if I'm gonna talk about it, could you please just listen?" Vanille loved to tease Fang but she knew when it was time to be serious. She merely nodded in response.

"The first time was when we got back from Cocoon." Fang began to explain, "The second was right after the heart." Another raised eyebrow from Vanille.

"Last night?" The taller Oerban nodded. She sighed again before noticing Vanille staring at her rather intently, "Forgive me but... why do you look like it's the end of the world-" She paused for a moment, "...bad choice of words."

"Because it didn't... feel right."

"So... you tried again?"

"It didn't feel any better the second time."

"Third time's a charm-?"

"Vanille."

"Sorry." The smaller Oerban waited patiently for anything else Fang felt like sharing, "Well how do you feel about her now?" She tried a different angle. She got a shake of a head in response.

"I don't even know anymore." Fang answered truthfully, "I can't stand her but I can't stop thinking about her. Every time I want to pull away I can't. And when I try to get close, she pushes me away and then I'm back to square one." Vanille had been aware of the tension between them for a while but she only now realized how much it had been weighing on Fang's mind.

"Araaaaaaghnfff-!" The voice that pierced the air had both Oerbans jumping a foot off the ground. They looked just in time to see a flash of blue, red and pink fly into a nearby tree.

"Light-?"

"Speak of the devil..."

"You're telling me." The pinkette mumbled, sparing them no more than a glance before returning her focus to where she'd come flying from. The Oerbans saw something rustling in the thick foliage before stepping out into the open.

"What... in the bloody... hell...?" Fang's eyes widened.

"Oh my..." Vanille took a step back.

Light glinted off golden hooves and gentle clinking of armor filled the air, which seemed to have dropped significantly in temperature. Four powerful legs supported the armored torso; hands grasped a large shield and even larger sword. Half horse, half human—though most definitely female; both Fang and Vanille paused at the creature's face. Despite being clearly adult in form, it's face was almost child-like.

"Friend of yours, Sunshine?" Fang spoke up, breaking the silence, slowly pulling the lance from behind her back, "Gotta say, that's one hell of a way to say hello..."

"Fang, shut up." Lightning mumbled, barely speaking above a whisper but both Oerbans heard her loud and clear, "This isn't possible."

"What, the fact that you just got yourself thrown hard enough to split a tree?"

"Fang, just be quie-"

"You." The unusual voice cut the pinkette off. Despite none of the women's eyes leaving the creature, the sudden voice took them off guard. It had turned and was now staring directly at Fang; golden eyes glowed like fire.

"What? There something on my face?" Fang muttered, her grip on her weapon tightening as she brought it upward, the hard gaze of the unfamiliar creature making her uneasy.

"Fang. Don't. move."

"I'm not the one that looks like I wanna run through the person I'm lookin' at, a couple times over." The Oerban was well aware that moving was a risky idea. It didn't help that whatever the hell this creature was, she'd never seen anything like it—at least on Gran Pulse. And Lightning seemed eerily calm about its arrival, being tossed into a tree, aside.

"You threaten my master." The creature spoke again.

"I did what now?" Fang frowned. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lightning moving nearer to the creature. While still focused on her, the creature stomped a hoof once. Splitting the ground, zig-zagging towards the pinkette grew rose-tinted crystal. The jagged spikes grew in size as it reached Lightning, who barely managed to evade them. As she saw this, Fang felt something stir in her gut, "Okay, enough pleasantries." She said, lunging forward.

"Fang, don't-!" The Oerban barely had time to feel the confusion at Lightning still trying to keep her from attacking the hostile newcomer before she saw a flash of sunlight reflected off the creature's large shield. Her hands shook under the force of a blow from said shield as she attempted to block it from hitting her. The shield was two thirds her size there was no way even she could remain unscathed from taking a direct hit from it.

Barely managing another block from a second shield-bash, Fang ducked out of the way of a large slash from the sword in the creature's other hand. While larger than herself, the creature's size did not seem to slow its actions down as much as she'd thought it would. Fang concluded she'd have a hard time getting close enough to even scratch her opponent—and that's if she could even find a way past its defenses.

"Why do you not awaken?" The creature questioned as Fang jumped back, out of reach of its massive weapons.

"What-?"

"It is meaningless if you do not fight at full strength." The creature took a step toward Fang.

"What the hell are you going on abo-?!" The Oerban shook her head, keeping her lance up and ready. She anticipated another attempt at a shield-bash but the creature's arm stopped just as it began to swing. Both it and Fang seemed temporarily confused.

"Why does there have to be any fighting at all?" Vanille's voice rang out through the clearing as Fang finally noticed the glimmering wires from her own weapon, wrapped around the creature's shield and shield-arm. Vanille's catch attempted to pull free but Fang realized though it was nothing like anything she'd seen before, the rules of the binding rod still applied to it. No matter how much strength one put into freeing themselves, the wires would not release them unless the wielder willed it. It was a dangerously underestimated weapon. While Fang had seen Vanille completely immobilize fully grown behemoths, it seemed like she was struggling to keep the creature's arm under control.

"Now, now," The smaller Oerban grunted as she pulled on the binding rod in her hands in an attempt to prove she had the control, "Struggling will only make things more difficult." The creature stopped tugging at the wires, glancing down at them before looking toward Vanille. In one motion, it raised it's other arm and brought it down, slashing with the massive sword, slicing through the wires like thread. Fang's eyebrows shot up as Vanille's face fell, "Well... can't say I was expecting _that_..."

"Vanille, get away!" Fang yelled as the creature advanced towards her Oerban companion. She made a break for Vanille herself only to hear what she could have sworn were fire-crackers going off. As she managed to pull Vanille away, putting herself between the smaller woman and the creature, she saw it had turned and was blocking arrows shot from Lightning who had moved into a tree further up the path.

"Fang! Vanille! Get away from her!" The pinkette shouted without pausing in firing the bow. Fang could have used the opportunity to attack the creature from behind but she couldn't risk Vanille being as close as she was if something went sideways so she began to move away, pulling Vanille with her. At the distance she was at, Lightning was far enough out of the creature's reach herself.

As Fang got herself and Vanille at least a dozen paces away, she noticed the creature had turned to fully face Lightning again. Before she could put together any plan of attack, she saw the giant sword being raised. As it did, it also began shifting. Much like Lightning's bow, within moments the large sword had turned into an even larger lance. Fang had been too fascinated by it's design to really notice that the creature had been pulling its arm back to throw it. And by the time she did realize, the massive lance already been released.

"LIGHT!" Vanille screamed as the lance pierced through the tree Lightning had been perched on, kicking up a ridiculous amount of dirt and leaves.

"Hey four-legs!" Fang had thrown herself toward the creature without thinking. She jumped, lance held high to bring down across it's back. As if anticipating the move, it deftly blocked with her shield. Fang's weapon barely scratched the surface before she was easily thrown to the side. She didn't manage to right herself before she hit the ground. She couldn't prevent a yelp from escaping as she landed on her arm, skidding into a tangled mesh of upturned roots. As she caught sight of the creature's lance protruding out of a mangled tree, she immediately scanned the nearby area for Lightning—having been thrown in the pinkette's general direction.

"Lightning?!" She called, her voice more frantic than she'd have thought possible.

"-guh!" A low voice from somewhere nearby indicated the other woman's position, "-forgot she could do that..." There was a mutter through a series of coughs as Fang scrambled to her feet to see Lightning pulling herself out from under a fallen tree. Catching one another's eyes, Lightning spoke first, "Really? _'four-legs'_?" Fang merely responded with a roll of her eyes.

Judging by the pinkette's movements, Fang noted that other than a few scratches, she'd managed to avoid any real injury. Her right eye shut tight, she may have gotten some dirt in it. Returning her attention to the creature, Fang saw it had already begun advancing on them, or its weapon. Or both—most likely both.

"This can't be happening..." Lightning repeated the phrase that caused Fang's jaw to tighten.

"Yeah, you mentioned that already but my arm says otherwise, Sunshine." She mumbled, feeling the broken skin along the arm in question. While the bone didn't seem broken, it was her dominant arm which would make it difficult to handle her lance for much longer.

"Fight me." The creature spoke once again, eyes on Fang as it continued closer. Fang grunted, forcing herself into a combat stance and readying herself for another round, "Fight m-" Suddenly the creature seemed to flicker. As if it were a damaged image or hologram of some sort. Fang stole a glance at the pinkette who looked just as confused as she felt, "-ight me, R...gna...ok-" The end of its sentence too jumbled to be understood, the creature disappeared, along with its weapon.

"What... just happened?" Vanille broke the silence, gingerly making her way towards the other two, eyeing the area where they'd been fighting. Fang and Lightning didn't answer, they too were stepping forward to where the creature had just been, "**_Did_** that just happen?" The question threw Fang for a moment.

"Of course it didn't, my arm just happens to be messed up for no..." The taller Oerban trailed off as she raised and shook her injured arm, "...reason..." Her arm was perfectly fine. No pain, no apparent injuries—not a scratch. Eyes immediately darting towards Lightning she saw the pinkette was also perfectly fine, not a hair out of place. A lump formed in her throat as she also noticed the treeline behind the pinkette. Perfectly normal, undisturbed, no evidence that it'd been torn through by an eight-foot lance.

"Well..." Vanille spoke up again, drawing the attention of the other two as she raised her binding rod up to examine it. The wires were still hooked, unbroken and perfectly intact, "That's not weird at all..." She glanced up at Fang and Lightning, neither of whom could find quite the right words to say.

A sound down the path from where they'd trekked knocked them all out of their thoughts. Looking to see two figures making their way towards them, the three women seemed to visibly let out a huge breath of relief.

"I would have thought the three of you would have made it to the ruins by now." Caius stopped just before reaching Vanille, an expressionless Yeul standing at his side.

"Are the three of you alright?" The priestess asked, looking between the three of them, "You look like you've just seen a-"

"We're fine." Lightning spoke, cutting the girl off, "We just ran into a particularly disagreeable Humbaba." Fang and Vanille looked towards the pinkette but Lightning's gaze remained on Yeul, almost suspiciously.

"A Humbaba? This close to the Barrens?" Caius countered with more apparent suspicion, "We may still be on the outskirts of the surrounding canyons but there should be no creatures venturing these parts-"

"Like I said: disagreeable." Lightning didn't hesitate to drive her statement home. Her voice was colder and harder than ever before. Caius, despite looking as though ready to throw down, remained silent.

"We should continue to the ruins." Yeul spoke, again cutting through the tension in the air, "We'll camp there as planned making it easy for us to make it to the Barrens in the morning." Without waiting for any form of response—as usual—she continued along the path. Caius didn't hesitate to fall in step beside her. Lightning turned and started up the path ahead of them without even a glance toward Fang or Vanille. The Oerbans looked at one another, still shaken from what they'd seen before the Paddraseans showed up but still unsure of how exactly to deal with it. After a motion with her head toward the rest of the party, Vanille began trudging along after them. Fang, with a frustrated sigh and one last glance at where she'd been thrown, followed soon after.

**:::  
Hours later**

Rubbing her eyes and throwing a handful of water on her face, Vanille took in a deep breath before making her way away from the camp the group had set up. Yeul was sleeping against a fallen tree with Caius sitting atop it, keeping watch. He paid little attention to her as she moved past. Fang had taken the first watch and had probably passed out minutes before Vanille had woken up. Which meant Lightning was up and about somewhere. The small Oerban found the pinkette sitting atop a boulder a few yards away from the others.

"Can't sleep?" Of course the pinkette would notice her before even turning to look her way. Vanille let out a halfhearted cross between a laugh and sigh. She rubbed her bare arms, finally registering the chill in the extremely early morning air, "Vanille?" She looked up to see Lightning looking down at her from her perch. It was dark but she could have sworn there was concern on the pinkette's face.

"Yeah... I just..." Vanille sighed again, taking a seat on a log a few feet from the boulder.

"Nightmares?" It was more a statement than a question from Lightning. Vanille wasn't surprised. For all she knew, Lightning could be speaking from personal experience. And if she weren't aware of how heavy her Oerban companion slept, she'd have had little doubt Fang probably had them too.

"Something like that." Vanille finally answered, pulling out the binding rod she'd reflexively grabbed as she'd walked away from the others. She unfolded it, examining the hooked wires for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last twelve hours. Her mind quickly flashed through the events of the previous afternoon. Since it happened, it still hadn't been discussed whether or not it actually did happen. While it had been so real, from what Fang and Lightning had been saying before, hallucinations weren't out of the question.

"That binding rod." Lightning's voice brought her back to the chilly morning. She looked up to see the pinkette motion towards her, "I noticed Oerbans using similar looking devices but none like the one you have."

"Well that's because this one is a little different from the others." Vanille turned her attention to the weapon in her hands, "Rather, you could say this is the original that spawned the ones we Oerbans use." She unfolded it, raising it up slightly in the soft surrounding light, "This one is special..." Her voice was barely audible as she lowered it again, remembering the moment it came to be hers.

"It was Aquinas' wasn't it?" Again, the question was really more of a statement. Vanille found herself smiling at Lightning's memory at her recollection of the one time she'd mentioned both the weapon and the Sulyyan.

"She'd tried explaining to me how to use it whenever Fang and I visited Sulyya."

"Before..."

"Before she died." Vanille always forced herself to refrain from denying what happened to Sulyya that fateful day. But while she'd accepted it'd happened, it didn't mean it didn't still hurt to think about, "Also after." She tried forcing the heavy thoughts from her mind, "She still helps me with the technique occasionally."

"You seem to handle it well enough as is." Vanille felt herself crack a smile, unable to call Lightning on her fittingly stiff way of voicing praise.

"You should have seen how she used it." She refolded the binding rod, placing it on the log next to her, "She's hardly touched it since though..."

"You care about her a lot, don't you?"

"I do." Vanille pulled her legs up to hug them for warmth, "There aren't words for quite how much."

"Your nightmares are about her, aren't they?" Vanille would have laughed at how Lightning's questions were really more like statements in disguise if the thought of her possible answer wasn't quite so... disturbing.

"Well I've had the nightmares before; where I re-live that day but... recently they've been different." Vanille felt herself hug her knees tighter, "Likely because of this whole artifact thing but still..."

"Different how?" Lightning finally asked a straight-up question that sought a clear answer from Vanille. The Oerban didn't answer right away—mainly because she honestly would rather have not think about what she saw every time she was able to sleep.

___**:::**_

___Heat licks at her face as she watches Sulyya burn. She hadn't remembered being so near any of the fires but she really couldn't have cared. All her focus was on the scene in front of her. As always she couldn't do anything to stop it. But unlike the previous times where she was struggling against a force pulling her away, she simply could not move. Her body was bound by something she couldn't see—only feel. She couldn't even voice words to scream in protest at what was happening right in front of her. Where before she'd felt weak, now she was completely powerless._

___The scene before her was one she'd seen more than she'd ever cared to. Aquinas struggling, with her life being squeezed out of her by a thick grip around her neck. How hard she had tried to see the Palamecian's face—if only to scorch the memory of the Sulyyan's killer into her mind. Never had she been able to. Not then, nor in her nightmares. _

___But this was different, the presence partially obscuring her view of Aquinas was different; larger and vastly different in stature. In fact, whatever it was that was holding Aquinas by the neck—slowly killing her—didn't even look to be human. _

___The nightmare starts to fade by now, but never before she watches as the last lights of life fade out in Aquinas' eyes. Never before the wave of sickening despair washes through the entirety of her body. Then it ends. Or rather it should, only it doesn't. For just a moment longer she remains—just long enough to see Aquinas' killer turn. Eerie yellow eyes shine from a face shrouded in shadow, out of which spread bright tendrils of light. It's all she sees in the brief moment before she's pulled from sleep to awake._

___**:::**_

"-nille?" Lightning once again brings her back to present. She blinks away the memory—along with un-fallen tears that had pooled in her eyes, "What is it? What did you see?" The uncharacteristic concern that laced the pinkette's voice didn't go unnoticed by Vanille as she tightened her arms around her knees even more.

"I'm not really sure." She answered honestly, "But what what really bothers me is the fact that... that particular nightmare is of something that happened in the past." She notice the look of confusion on Lightning's face.

"Well nightmares can stem from bad past experiences." She motioned toward Vanille, "Particularly ones as... traumatic as that one."

"No but see that's the thing, everything that's had to do with the artifact and this prophecy, in some way or another, for me it's been glimpses of the future—none of which have been pleasant."

"So you think what your seeing isn't your memories of the past but visions of-"

"-the future?" Vanille cut the pinkette off, finishing the question as if asking it herself.

"Which... would mean that-"

"I'm going to watch Aquinas die." Vanille again, blurted out what Lightning had concluded, "Again."

There was a long, heavy silence between them as both women let the information process and sink in. The implications disturbing both of them. Now more or less numb to the cold, Vanille uncurled herself, letting her legs hang off the edge of the log.

"Nothing's going to happen to Aquinas." The pinkette's voice had changed, "Nothing's going to happen to you or Fang, Gran Pulse or Cocoon." While still hard, it wasn't it's usual steely cold. There was a firm, heated determination that Vanille hadn't seen during Lightning's entire time on Gran Pulse. Yet it suited her perfectly. It momentarily took Vanille off guard, "Neither world is going to end. I'm going to finish this without any more unnecessary losses or pointless sacrifices."

Vanille was almost too engrossed in the sheer resoluteness in Lightning's voice she almost didn't process her words. While it'd just been passing suspicion before, Vanille was now almost positive the pinkette knew a lot more about their entire situation than she was letting on.

"Changing the future huh?" Vanille resigned to leave that particular conversation for when she wasn't exhausted from lack of sleep, "I can just hear the Elders now, deeming it impossible." The words came off almost bitter, causing the Oerban to frown, "Going to make the impossible possible, are we?" Once again, Vanille was surprised to see Lightning actually let out a genuine laugh.

"Yeah." The pinkette seemed to relax a little atop her perch, "Something like that."

**:::  
Later that morning**

"So let me get this straight," Fang turned to Caius crouching behind cover a few feet away with Yeul, "You've come all this way to catch the Taejins in the act of getting dangerous toys from Cocoon and all you're going to do is _'observe'_?"

"This is a delicate situation, we're on the brink of war as it is." Caius hissed back, "We handle this wrong it could tip everything over the edge."

"We've leaped far over the edge by now, if you ask me." The Oerban muttered. Vanille placed a hand on Fang's arm. She knew Fang wasn't one to sit in one place for very long, even though it'd barely been a few hours since the sun had come up. Once they'd reached the barrens, Lightning and Caius had immediately decided to search for possible vantage points around the enclosed plateau—more of a crater really. They'd only found one amidst a ridge that was high enough to have a view of the entire area. It was close enough to where they weren't completely trapped in the position should something go awry and provided enough cover to remain unnoticed by any on the plateau itself.

Vanille and Fang had never been to the barrens before. They'd skirted the edges and she knew Fang had probably ventured nearer using Cain but neither had ever been this close. Despite it's name, the area was not totally lacking in vegetation. There were plants that grew from the cracks in the wall and ground. However, while not dead, they seemed lifeless—as if trapped in a glass bottle with nowhere to grow. The ground itself was a multitude of shades of black and grey. Unnaturally jagged formations rose from the ground, lining the area like a giant set of jaws. There was movement in the air—barely a breeze but no sounds were carried with it. Even as they had climbed their way to their lookout point, the scratchy crunches of their footsteps seemed to be hushed.

The Taejins had arrived first, a little under an hour after they had. A small group of what looked like around seven of their largest warriors. Lightning had brought up possible additions in hiding but both the Oerbans and Paddraseans had assured her that Taejins did not hide.

"I don't see Virrez." Fang had noticed almost immediately.

"Maybe Virrez doesn't know." Vanille suggested, despite her own doubt.

"Why would the representative chosen to attend official negotiations with Cocoon not be present for something like this?" Caius too, seemed slightly perturbed, "Besides, Virrez is second in command within the tribe—he's their chief's right hand, arm and weapon."

"Well maybe the chief doesn't want him to know he's about to get replaced." Lightning spoke up, The blunt words earning frowns from all the Gran Pulsians around her, "Also let's face it, these don't seem to fall under 'official negotiations'."

"They're coming." Yeul's voice, despite—as usual—being barely above a whisper, seemed to echo farther than any of the others'. In unison the group looked up as a shadow darted across the area below. Before any of them could guess what was going on, there was the sound of metal on rock and the snapping of wires. A large plume of smoke trailed behind what they could now barely make out as a shuttle of some kind.

"Is making the most unnecessarily dramatic—and more than likely destructive—entrance possible a Viper tradition?" Caius muttered with a glance toward Lightning. The pinkette shrugged the jab off, keeping her eyes on the new arrival.

Vanille watched as the smoke cleared and dust settled. It turned out the shuttle didn't quite crash as its landing had led them to believe. It was more of a terribly rough landing. There didn't seem to be much more damage than a few dents in the landing gears and a few loose panels exposing a couple of sparking cables.

"Technology is probably unreliable in and around the deadzone." Lightning voiced her theory, eyes still locked on the shuttle, "It's why this place is more or less left alone-"

"Apparently not anymore." Caius cut in.

"By the Palamecians." Lightning finished her sentence pointedly, actually turning to look at the Paddrasean. She motioned toward the shuttle with her head, "That shuttle is Sanctum."

"Well they certainly don't waste time." Yeul broke the tension with a motion toward said shuttle. The others looked to see four soldiers dressed in uniforms even the Gran Pulsians recognized as typical Sanctum gear. They watched as they stepped out of the small ship while the back dropped open to reveal two more standing next to a large crate. As the Taejins walked up to meet the arrivals, the two by the crate guided it out, aligning them next to the rest of the group.

"What could be in that crate?" Caius directed the question at Lightning. The others looked to the pinkette expectantly but Vanille immediately noticed the perturbed—almost disturbed look on her face.

"Light?" She urged softly.

"That crate..." Lightning finally replied, "How did they get- that is..." She began moving forward, likely to get a closer look. But any more and she'd be in full view. Before Vanille realized, Fang was at her side, pulling her back, keeping her behind cover.

"Lightning what is it?" The taller Oerban all but demanded, "What's in the crates? Weapons? What kind of weapons?" The pinkette didn't answer, "Lightning-!"

"Those are Palamecian weapon caches." She finally explained, pointing to the crates now being opened by the Sanctum soldiers for the Taejins who were crowded around them.

"What... like... that staff thing I used-?"

"No I mean like the gauntlets and blades." The pinkette's tone was almost fearful now, "The same weapons that ruined Sulyya and its people." Fang's hold on Lightning went slack but the pinkette remained still.

"So the Palamecians are behind this-!?" Caius hissed.

"It takes at least a year to master the Crystogen gauntlet and blade. And even then only one in ten Palamecians form the guard unit that is allowed to wield them." Lightning began explaining, shaking her head, "It's not something you can just pick up and swing around-" She motioned towards the exchanging parties, "-Handing it to anyone without training is liking telling children to run around with pieces of broken glass."

"So what are they doing giving it to the Taejins?" Caius demanded, the confusion in his voice not masking the growing frustration, "And why use the Sanctum to do it-"

"They wouldn't." Vanille cut him off this time, "Even we know the relationship between the Palamecians and Sanctum is less than friendly."

"Yeah, I doubt they'd willingly share their toys." Fang decided to add.

"This makes no sense." Lightning was bordering on being in denial, the gears working overtime in her mind reflected through her expression, "Raynes is ambitious but what's he trying to pull with this...?"

"Raynes?" Yeul pick up on the name, "As in General Raynes?" Lightning didn't doubt the priestess knew the Sanctum General. In fact, in terms of any kind of representative of Cocoon, Raynes was probably the one she—among the other leaders of Gran Pulse—dealt with during 'negotiations'.

"That fool has always been aggressive during talks between our worlds." Caius stated, "Thinking about it, I'm surprised it took him this long to pull something like this."

"I'd say I could agree with you if this entire setup didn't seem completely over-complicated." Lightning shook her head, "It makes no sense... What does the Sanctum gain framing the Palamecians?"

"Power over Cocoon?" Fang suggested, catching the pinkette's attention, "Think about it: The Sanctum use the anger the Gran Pulsians have against the Palamecians—through the use of their weapons-" She motioned to the group making their exchange, "-They strike a deal, taking focus off the tension between us and them, redirecting it towards the Palamecians."

"What, like... the enemy of my enemy is my friend?" Vanille attempted to simplify the theory. She succeeded—to a point. It made sense. To everyone. Including Lightning. Yet something still seemed... off. Like there was still some small piece of information they were missing.

"I don't mean to interrupt your brainstorming," Yeul broke into the conversation, "But those don't look like gauntlets or blades..." The others looked to see that the case the Sanctum soldiers had brought out was now open, "...or any sort of weapon I've seen of theirs, before."

Four large canisters sat in the crate, about four feet tall and about a foot and a half in diameter. Made mostly of metal, the translucent sections let off a bright green glow. Immediately Lightning tensed up.

"Wait a minute.." Fang spoke first, looking between the canisters and Lightning, "Wait-Light, those things were up in-"

"The poison." Lightning finished, "The poison we saw in their underground lab." She clenched a fist, "They must have finished it..." She trailed off, her eyes narrowing on the open crate.

"Poison? What poison?" Caius demanded.

"The same one you and Fang had in your systems?" Vanille asked.

Their questions remained unanswered, Lightning being too focused on the crates, and Fang too focused on the pinkette's narrowed eyes.

"Light-?" Suddenly the pinkette shot up, drawing the bowblade off her back and unfolding it. In a flash she'd jumped to a higher spot on the ridge, barely behind cover she took a shooting stance.

"Light?!"

"What are you-?!"

To the others' surprise, the pinkette directed her aim upward, there was a strange pulse in the notched arrow before she released it. It shot upwards before it seemed to morph into a ball. As it reached it's peak, it immediately pulsed again, sending out multiple, smaller arrows downward, in the general direction of the group surrounding the crates.

Immediately both parties scattered, scurrying to what cover they could reach. The Sanctum turned and opened fire with their own weapons, in Lightning's general direction. The hail of gunpowder causing the other Gran Pulsians to duck behind their cover. Lightning had already moved, attempting to figure out her next target area.

"Lightning what the hell-?!"

"What are you doing?!" Caius barked as the area was scattered with more Sanctum rifle fire.

"We have to get them away from the crates." She drew back the bowstring, another arrow forming at her fingertips. Fang practically jumped at her, grasping at one of her wrists, halting her shot

"What? Why?!" The pinkette attempted to shake the Oerban's grip off but Fang resisted, "Light, what the hell, as if the situation wasn't messed up enough!? What if one of the canisters had been hit-"

"It's not going to matter in a few seconds!" Lightning snapped, finally succeeding in breaking out of Fang's hold, though at the cost of the arrow she'd notched, "That type of crate has a security setting on them, they're set to explode if it isn't powered down after being opened." She drew back the bowstring once more, "_Every_ Palamecian is aware of this setting and knows whether it's been disabled or not and_ that_ crate is still active."

"Wh-What...?"

"The CG energy in that crate is going to overload, the explosion won't be massive but who knows what kind of effect that'll have when you add that poison!" Lightning hissed, stepping out of cover to fire another hail of arrows. Caius had pulled Yeul farther into cover while Vanille had climbed higher up the ridge behind thicker cover against the spray of gunfire. Fang looked to see the Taejins had moved farther from the crates than the Sanctum soldiers, their ranged weapons being slower and significantly less effective to spray the entire side of a mountain ridge. Yells of anger and suspicion drifted along with the gunfire but was generally drowned out.

"Light... they're not moving."

"Damnit!" Lightning cursed as she moved to fire another arrow. She let it fly prematurely as her finger slipped at the sound of an explosion. She was pulled back by Fang, just as she saw the group of Sanctum soldiers thrown off their feet as a burst of bright orange blinded her. There was another set of smaller bursts that could only have been the canisters the crate contained.

After that there was silence. Scrambling back to her feet to examine the scene, a lump formed in her throat when all she saw was a large, green smoke drifting about the area the Taejins and Sanctum had been. It wasn't even smoke really, it looked heavier, remaining close to the ground. It almost looked as though it had a life of it's own, spreading out along the ground to seek out anything and everything it could engulf.

"Oh no..." Vanille, who had made her way out of cover had climbed back down to where Fang and Lightning were, "What..."

"What the hell just happened?" Caius and Yeul joined them moments later. No answer. Not from Fang, nor Lightning, definitely nothing from those down below. There was nothing but the sound of crumbling rock from having flying debris flung into them.

Eventually, while the green smog persisted in the area, muffled coughs and incoherent cries of confusion could be heard from within it.

"They're still alive." Vanille gasped, a hand gripping the sash of Fang's sari. The Oerbans shared a look before the taller of the two looked toward Lightning. The pinkette swallowed thickly before motioning to Vanille.

"You have the elixir Aquinas made us?" Vanille nodded, pulling the pack on her back around and reaching into it.

"What?" Caius spoke up as the smaller Oerban pulled out a set of small glass vials, "You're going down there? Did I mishear you when you mentioned poison?"

"This is Aquinas' counter to it." Lightning raised one of the vials after taking it from Vanille. She then quickly opened and downed the liquid inside in an instant.

"Light, we don't know for sure if it's the same poison..." Fang attempted to stop the pinkette who was already moving to make her way down the ridge.

"So what? We're just going to leave them there to die?" Lightning responded with a hard stare. At that, Vanille drank a vial's worth before handing two to Caius and Yeul. Fang remained still, her own in her hand, "Besides, Palamecian technology has killed enough, wouldn't you agree?" The pinkette didn't wait for a response as she pushed past Fang, half climbing, half jumping down the ridge towards the poison cloud.

Vanille seemed to be waiting for Fang—albeit slightly impatiently, shifting her weight from leg to leg and her gaze from Fang to Lightning. The taller Oerban just sighed in frustration and drank Aquinas' elixir and moved to follow the pinkette.

"You can't be serious-" Caius called after them, only to be cut off by Yeul handing him her own empty vial. He stood dumbfounded for about half a second before downing his own and leading her after the others, grumbling the entire way.

As Lightning neared the green smog, it seemed to have stopped spreading, maintaining itself around the area of the initial explosion, perfectly placed to have enveloped the Taejins and Sanctum soldiers. Bow still drawn, the pinkette continued to step nearer. While less frequent, coughs and groans could still be heard from within the green cloud. Bracing herself, Lightning forced herself forward, as she did, the nearest of the gas appeared to almost reach for her, wrapping herself around her legs then upwards around her body.

"Please work..." She found herself mumbling as she inhaled, shutting her eyes, for a moment. Other than a subtle sickly smell of rotten fruit and a tingling sensation in the back of her head, she didn't feel any pain. As she opened her eyes she noticed the smog seem to lower itself from her torso, as if releasing her in defeat.

Continuing towards the sounds of suffering, she noticed now the smog was continuing to pull itself away from her. She stopped again, observing it more closely. Wisps of the thick green gas were indeed moving, not so much away from her but more back to where it'd been released. It were almost as though she were watching it's dispersion in reverse. Slowly but surely, the poison was recoiling.

"What in the bloody hell...?" Fang's voice alerted Lightning to her presence, along with Vanille and the Paddraseans a few yards behind. Turning back to watch the smog, she realized it wasn't recoiling either. Eventually the bodies of the Taejins and the Sanctum soldiers came into view. But the way in which caused Lightning's eyes to slowly widen.

"What's... happening to them...?" Vanille questioned, in a horrified whisper.

As the Taejins and Sanctum soldier on the ground gasped for air, the smog seemed to force itself into them, through their mouths and noses, filling their lungs—their entire bodies, evident by the increasing convulsions. Lightning approached the nearest Sanctum soldier, his helmet still on, though the visor shattered. Blood and dirt covered what she could see of his face as he gasped, his hand clutching at his chest.

"What's wrong with them?" Caius asked this time, now close enough to see for himself—not to mention the poison had thinned significantly, having made its way into those writhing on the ground.

"We have to help them-" Vanille knelt down next to one of the Taejins, "We have to..." She trailed off. Before Lightning could look over to find out why, she began to see for herself.

The soldier at her feet began to foam at the mouth. His gasped became gargled as he coughed up a clot of blood—dark, thick and unnaturally clumped as it landed on the ground. The pinkette took a step back as the soldier began to let out strangled cries as his convulsions grew worse. She watched in horror as his uniform suddenly ripped down one of the arms before dark, crystal-like scales tore through it, along with the skin under it. She jumped backwards this time as the soldier flipped onto his front, grasping—no, clawing—at the ground as the rest of his body continued to change in a way similar to his arm.

She was momentarily distracted by a terrified scream from Vanille who'd rush to where Fang was standing. The others on the ground were changing as well, just as violently. A loud cross between a groan and a growl brought her attention back to the soldier at her feet. No, by now he was no longer a soldier but a... creature. Dark, scaled, deformed and oozing with an aura of rage and despair. As soon as the aura it hit her, Lightning felt sick to her stomach—as though she were affected by the poison herself. She didn't need to see the source of a dim red glow from under it's body to realized she knew where this was going.

"Get-way from th-bodies." Lightning's voice cracked, her throat unexpectedly dry, "We need to get away from here, now." She motioned to the other Oerbans, "Move! Now!" She ordered this time, side stepping away from the thrashing creature.

"But... the Taejins..." Vanille called as Fang pulled her towards Lightning, "They're... they're-"

"They're gone." Lightning finished as they stood together at the edge of the madness, watching helplessly as the broken bodies continued to morph into nightmarish abominations, "They're not human anymore."

"What are they...?"

Lightning could've cursed at whoever had asked. She could barely stand to acknowledge it in her mind, she didn't think she could say it aloud. As if so long as she didn't say it, it couldn't be true. But faced with a dozen red crystals glowing through the kicked up dirt, lying—to herself or anyone else—was a luxury she could not afford.

"Cei'th."


End file.
